Vol. 25 No.

3 Nuts & Volts INVERSE KINEMATICS: A UNIVERSAL ROBOTICS CONTROLLER March 2004

Circle #154 on the Reader Service Card.

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C i rcuitSpecialists.com C i rcuitSpecialists.com C i rcuitSpecialists.com

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MARCH 2004 Circle #72 on the Reader Service Card.

3
ContentsMar.qxd 2/6/2004 10:08 AM Page 4

March 2004
Vol. 25 No. 3

PROJECTS
42 ADDING SOUND TO YOUR PROJECTS
Use various integrated circuits to set your
projects apart from others through the use
COLUMNS
of sound.
by Martin Dubuc 30 ELECTRONICS Q&A
Basic Electronics; HGH for Old Electronics; SSR
46 HDD EXERCISER Meets MCU; Commodore Still Alive; Moody
Give your defunct hard disk drive some get LEDs; and more.
up and go.
by Evert Fruitman 84 IN THE TRENCHES
For design engineers facing real world
51 BUILD A 1 MHz FREQUENCY COUNTER problems. This month: Troubleshooting
Building this useful benchtop tool is interesting Circuits.
and instructive.
by Paul Florian JUST FOR STARTERS
16
Interface Choices, Part 1: Transistors.

26 LET’S GET TECHNICAL

FEATURES Controlling the Light: Hardware and Software
Protocols for a Fiber Communications System.

CONTROL YOUR DEVICES FROM A WEB 20 MICRO MEMORIES

56 Bulletin Board Systems.
PAGE
Use a web browser to monitor and control
your devices. 80 PERSONAL ROBOTICS
by Jan Axelson Inverse Kinematics to the Rescue!

NEAR SPACE: PART 2 89 STAMP APPLICATIONS

62
Survey the many experiments offered by Measure High, Measure Low.
near space exploration.
by L. Paul Verhage 8 TECHKNOWLEDGEY 2004
Create Your Own P2P Network; Wireless
LEARN ABOUT CYCLIC REDUNDANCY Printing; Save Money on LEDs; Make Money
70
CHECKS on Tech Stocks; and more.
Explore this error detection system for data
communication applications.
by Michael Kornacker

D E PA R T M E N T S
97 Advertiser’s Index 69 News Bytes Nuts & Volts (ISSN 1528-9885/CDN Pub Agree#40702530) is published monthly for
75 Classified Display Ads 78 NV Bookstore $24.95 per year by T & L Publications, Inc., 430 Princeland Court, Corona, CA 92879.
14 Electro-Net 7 Publisher’s Info PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT CORONA, CA AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING
67 Electronics Showcase 6 Reader Feedback OFFICES. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Nuts & Volts, 430 Princeland
38 New Product News 94 Tech Forum Court, Corona, CA 92879-1300 or Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5.
cpcreturns@nutsvolts .com

MARCH 2004
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Circle #35 on the Reader Service Card.

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Reader Feedback

Dear Nuts and Volts: Keep up the great work!

I modified a Panasonic
remote for use in controlling a
project I am making. The photo
included here shows the label,
which actually looks better than
what the digital photo shows. It
seems that the digital photo
emphasizes imperfections,
whereas the eye doesn't see
them as clearly on the real
thing.
The label is made in a
similar way to what Gerald
Fonte suggested in his recent
article (Nuts & Volts, February
2004, "Making Your Own
Custom Membrane Switches")
— using graphics printed with an ink jet printer onto a sticky
paper label stock, then applying transparent tape on top for
durability. I used a jeweler's magnifying headpiece and a
boxcutter to cut the holes for the buttons.
I came up with the label idea independently. It's a lot of
fun making a label that looks as good as what this method
can produce. The control communicates with the Tiny IR
circuit, a kit sold by Bob Grieb on the Internet for around
$23.00. www.pics.com/~grieb/IR.htm
Grieb's circuit can "learn" the IR signal from just about
any remote and translate it into one of eight latched TTL level
outputs. I found the smallest remote I could — which is the
Panasonic in the photo. I took it apart, cut down the excess
rubber buttons so they wouldn't stick up into my label, and
covered up the missing button holes with the label. I
perforated the label to accommodate the eight buttons I was
using, corresponding to the eight latched TTL outputs on the
Tiny IR circuit. It almost looks like a commercial product and
the next iteration would eliminate the imperfections. It is an
excellent remote controller for my project, which is a wood
fired pottery kiln, still in the design phase. Thanks for
publishing an interesting magazine.
Bob Colwell
via Internet
Dear Nuts and Volts:
I loved the article, "Making Friends with a Field
Programmable Gate Array," by Chris Hannold (January
2004). Chris mentions having trouble programming the
device in the Win XP environment. I had this trouble, but,
when using Win 2000 for my XP system, I used the solution
provided at the HVW Technologies website for the Altera
device. The link to that information is www.hvwtech.com/
downloads/other/fpga_hardware_2000.pdf
I hope this helps some of your other readers.
Andrew Cecil
Madison, AL
Dear Nut & Volts:
I read Nuts & Volts cover to cover each month. The Q &
A column, by TJ Byers, is worth the price of the magazine
alone. Could you find someone to do an article or even a
small series similar to Ray Marston's excellent “Bipolar
Transistor Cookbook,” but based on using power MOSFETs?
I am particularly interested in motor control and high
quality audio.
Jerold Schoof
Ardrossan AB, Canada
Dear Nuts and Volts:
I’ve been enjoying Ray Maston’s “Bipolar Transistor
Cookbook” as a good review of the basics. In Part 7 of the
series (January 2004), the arrangement in Figure 16 jumped
out at me. I see one serious problem there!
If the biasing arrangement is as shown — with no fixed
resistors to the base of transistor Q1 — then, if the trimmer
RV2 is set to the point where base and emitter are shorting
out, the bias is completely removed from that transistor. Q1
cuts off completely, which means that Q3, Q4, Q5, and Q6
all go into hard saturation. R4, R5, R6, and R7 will at least get
kind of warm and so will all four of those transistors.
I've seen this sort of thing happen in somewhat heavier-
duty power amp circuits, usually as a result of something
opening up in the bias string. The
results aren't often pretty, sometimes
by J. Shuman
letting the magic smoke out of some
parts. The arrangement in Figure 12 —
where there's a minimum resistance
still in the circuit at all times — will
probably be preferred.
Roy Tellason
via Internet

Errata
Author Thomas Henry, designer of
the Clangora percussion synthesizer
(November 2003), offers the following
NUTS & VOLTS

corrections to his project.

"On the parts placement guide
(Figure 7, page 49), capacitor C38
should be labeled as C33. Both are 0.1
Everything For Electronics

µF in any event. Also, resistor R20

mounts behind the front panel in
addition to the components mentioned
on page 50."

MARCH 2004
6
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PUBLISHER
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ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/
VP OF SALES/MARKETING
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ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR
Rich Collins
rich@nutsvolts.com
MANAGING/TECHNICAL EDITOR
Dan Danknick
dan@nutsvolts.com
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Alexandra Lindstrom
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
James Antonakos Gerard Fonte
Jan Axelson Evert Fruitman
Mark Balch Mike Keesling
Michael Kornacher TJ Byers
Ed Driscoll Paul Verhage
Martin Dubuc Jon Williams
Jeff Eckert Paul Florian
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR
Mary Gamar
subscribe@nutsvolts.com
SHOW COORDINATOR
Audrey Lemieux
WEB CONTENT/NV STORE
Michael Kaudze
michael@nutsvolts.com
PRODUCTION/GRAPHICS
Rosa Gutierrez
Shannon Lemieux
DATA ENTRY
Karla Thompson
Debbie Lockett
Copyright 2004 by T & L Publications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

All advertising is subject to publisher's approval.

We are not responsible for mistakes, misprints, or
typographical errors. Nuts & Volts Magazine
assumes no responsibility for the availability or
condition of advertised items or for the honesty
of the advertiser. The publisher makes no claims
for the legality of any item advertised in Nuts &
Volts. This is the sole responsibility of the
advertiser.Advertisers and their agencies agree to
indemnify and protect the publisher from any and
all claims, action, or expense arising from
advertising placed in Nuts & Volts. Please send all
subscription orders, correspondence, UPS,
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Court, Corona, CA 92879.
MARCH 2004 Circle #153 on the Reader Service Card.
7
Tech2004.qxd 2/4/2004 11:00 PM Page 8
TechKnowledgey 2004
TechKnowledgey
2004 From the Electronics World
Events, Advances, and News
Advanced
Technologies
Light-Emitting Transistor
Promises Revolutionary
Change
The newly discovered light-emitting
transistor has three ports: input, electrical
output, and optical output.
Illustration courtesy of Walid Hafez,
University of Illinois News Bureau.
T here is a good chance that the
names Nick Holonyak, Jr. and
Milton Feng sound familiar.
Holonyak invented the first practical
light-emitting diode and the first
semiconductor laser to operate in
the visible spectrum; Feng is credited
with creating the world's fastest
bipolar transistor — a device that
operates at a frequency of 509 GHz.
Now, the two have collaborated at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign (www.uiuc.edu) and,
appropriately enough, have come up
with a light-emitting transistor design
that could turn the transistor into the
fundamental element in optoelec-
NUTS & VOLTS
tronics, as it has in electronics.
"We have demonstrated light
emission from the base layer of a
Everything For Electronics
heterojunction bipolar transistor and
shown that the light intensity can be
controlled by varying the base
current," said Holonyak. "This work
8
is still in the early stage, so it is not
yet possible to say what all the appli-
cations will be, but a light-emitting
transistor opens up a rich domain of
integrated circuitry and high-speed
signal processing that involves both
electrical signals and optical signals."
A transistor usually has two
ports: one for input and one for out-
put. "Our new device has three ports:
an input, an electrical output, and an
optical output," detailed Feng. "This
means that we can interconnect
optical and electrical signals for dis-
play or communication purposes."
Unlike traditional transistors,
which are built from silicon and ger-
manium, the light-emitting transis-
tors are made from indium gallium
phosphide and gallium arsenide. "In
a bipolar device, there are two kinds
of injected carriers: negatively
charged electrons and positively
charged holes," Holonyak said.
"Some of these carriers will recom-
bine rapidly, supported by a base
current that is essential for the
normal transistor function."
The recombination process in
indium gallium phosphide and galli-
um arsenide materials also creates
infrared photons — the "light" in the
researchers' light-emitting transis-
tors. "In the past, this base current
has been regarded as a waste current
that generates unwanted heat,"
explained Holonyak. "We've shown
that, for a certain type of transistor,
the base current creates light that can
be modulated at transistor speed."
Although the recombination
process is the same as that which
occurs in light-emitting diodes, the
photons in light-emitting transistors
are generated under higher-speed
conditions. So far, the researchers
by Jeff Eckert
have demonstrated the modulation of
light emission in phase with a base
current in transistors operating at a
frequency of 1 MHz. Obtaining still
higher speeds is considered certain.
"At such speeds, optical inter-
connects could replace electrical
wiring between electronic compo-
nents on a circuit board," Feng pro-
jected. This work could be the begin-
ning of an era in which photons are
directed around a chip in much the
same fashion as electrons have been
maneuvered on conventional chips.
Computers and
Networking
Create Your Own P2P
Network
A peer-to-peer (P2P) network, in
case you are not up on the ter-
minology, is simply a decentralized
network in which all computers
(clients) simultaneously act as client
and server for all other clients, rather
than making requests to the same
specific central server.
Perhaps the most famous one
(although not a pure P2P configura-
tion) is Napster. Using software and
the website of Foldershare
(www.foldershare.com), you can
now create your own P2P network,
linking any number of computers in
disparate locations. The software
allows you to retrieve and update
documents remotely, share files with
other computers, and transmit files
with the only size limit being your
own available hard disk space and
connection speed. You can even syn-
chronize and update multiple copies
of the same file across multiple com-
puters. The basic process involves
creating a library on your machine
MARCH 2004
 Tech2004.qxd 2/4/2004 11:00 PM Page 9
ert
and converting it into a group library.
You then invite family, friends, and
colleagues to share your library. They,
in turn, create Foldershare libraries on
their machines and these are avail-
able to everyone in the group.
Features also include secure
business networking, encrypted busi-
ness-to-business (B2B) transfers, and
automatic virtual private network
(VPN) creation. To create your own net-
work, just log onto the foldershare web-
site and follow the directions. Best of
all, the service (so far) is free of charge.
Bluetooth Adapter for
Wireless Printing
A new Bluetooth adapter from
Belkin (www.belkin.com)
allows you to perform wireless printing
from a desktop or laptop computer —
or even a PDA — without the expense
of buying a separate Bluetooth-
enabled printer. Co-developed with
MARCH 2004
TechKnowledgey 2004
Ultra-Compact
Microprocessor Introduced
Bluetooth adapter allows wireless printing
from a desktop or laptop computer.
Photo courtesy of Belkin.
Roving Networks (www.roving
networks.com), the adapter adds
Bluetooth technology to existing USB
Transmeta's Crusoe TM5700 and TM5900
printers, allowing them to connect to microprocessors offer a 21 x 21 mm
any device enabled with Bluetooth v1.1
technology. The device offers a range
of up to 100 meters, depending on the
footprint and low power consumption.
Photo courtesy of Transmeta Corp.
environment, number of users, and
electromagnetic noise levels. Priced at
about $100.00, it includes a printing
T
and
ransmeta Corporation recently
introduced its Crusoe TM5700
TM5900 microprocessors,
utility for Pocket PC and Palm OS. designed for applications which
Circle #110 on the Reader Service Card.
9
Tech2004.qxd 2/4/2004 11:01 PM
TechKnowledgey 2004
require high-performance processing
within small and thermally
constrained environments, including
thin clients, blade servers, printers,
copiers, point-of-sale terminals, smart
displays, portable consumer devices,
ultra-personal computers (UPCs),
and set-top boxes. They are available
in a 21 x 21 mm package for
increased design flexibility; this pack-
age also enables smaller form factors
for x86-compatible, energy efficient
mobile and embedded computing.
The TM5700 and TM5900
processors are a continuation of the
Crusoe product line and provide the
established low-power and high-
performance characteristics of
Crusoe's 128-bit VLIW (Very Long
Instruction Word) engine, which
issues up to four instructions per
clock cycle. The Crusoe architecture
includes integrated, on-chip
Northbridge core logic, reducing both
chip count and power requirements
while decreasing the size and cost of
the PC board. The new processors
offer up to 1 GHz of x86-compatible
performance and incorporate integer
and floating-point execution units,
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caches, a large 512 KB (TM5900) or
256 KB (TM5700) L2 write-back
cache, a 64-bit DDR SDRAM memory
controller, and a 32-bit PCI controller.
Stepper Motor Book
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Page 10
Transmeta's LongRun® power
management technology reduces
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core, based on application demands;
this is achieved by adapting proces-
sor operation to system thermal
environments. Additionally, a small
form factor Mini-ITX motherboard
evaluation/reference platform, based
on the TM5900 processor, will be
available. This high-performance,
low-power platform comes with
schematics, design guides, processor
specifications, device drivers, and all
other requirements for evaluation and
initiating product designs.
Circuits and Devices
Ambient Orb Provides
Colorful Data Display
Y es, it looks like something out of
a New Age gift shop and proba-
bly is the work of some lonely com-
puter geeks who still live with their
moms and wear Winnie the Pooh
pajamas. Also, the company's claim
that the device is intended to, "make
the world calmer," is borderline hallu-
cinatory. Yet, there is something
intriguing about the Ambient Orb
from Ambient Devices (www.ambi
entdevices.com).
PIC
R
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PIC, PICmicro and MPLAB are trademarks
of Microchip Technology Inc.
President David Rose of Ambient
Devices holds his glowing orb.
Photo courtesy of Ambient Devices.
Basically, what you get for your
$150.00 is a frosted glass ball that
contains a bunch of LEDs and a pager.
Data of your choosing is converted,
configured, compressed, and transmit-
ted to your orb via the national Ambient
Information Network, after which, the
information is presented in the form of
color changes in the orb. Certainly,
your computer does the same thing in a
much more detailed manner, but that’s
the point — not all information needs to
be presented in great detail.
At present, you can configure the
orb to display things like changes in the
Dow Jones or your personal stock port-
folio, weather trends, traffic congestion,
pollen count, number of Emails waiting
Easy Microcontrol'n - Beginner $29.95
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Instruction set, addressing modes, bit manipulation,
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Microcontrol'n Apps - Intermediate $44.95
· Serial communication - PICmicro to peripheral chips
· Serial EEPROMS
· LCD interface and scanning keypads
· D/A and A/D conversion - several methods
· Math routines
· 8-pin PICmicros
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· Test equipment and data logger experiments
Time'n and Count'n - Intermediate $34.95
· 16-bit timing and counting applications
· Timer 1, timer 2 and the capture/compare/PWM (CCP)
module
Serial Communications - Advanced $49.95
· Synchronous - bit-bang, on-chip UART, RS-232
· Asynchronous - I2C (Phllips Semiconductors)
SPI (Motorola), Microwire (National Semiconductor)
· Dallas Semiconductor 1-Wire bus
MARCH 2004
Tech2004.qxd 2/4/2004 11:01 PM Page 11
for you, public opinion poll results, and
so on. Theoretically, it could also be set
up to keep track of interest rates, avail-
able credit on a card, your blood alco-
hol level, or even the emotional state of
your spouse (which may be directly
related to your blood alcohol level).
Essentially, it can handle any
information that can be fed into a net-
work and the company claims that
the device is compatible with existing
long-range networks, as well as short-
range (Bluetooth 802.11) ones. There
are no monthly fees for the standard
data channels, although some option-
al premium services involve a fee.
Is it a practical data output
device or just a desktop toy? That
probably depends on the application
you choose. If you can think of a
spectacular use for the technology,
send your ideas to Ambient Devices.
They are open to suggestions.
USB Cable for Confined
Spaces
O kay, it's not exactly the most
momentous achievement in
electrical engineering history, but, if
you need to install computer systems
in confined spaces, you know that the
somewhat inflexible nature of
standard USB cables can be annoy-
ing. Even if you only need to shove
MARCH 2004
TechKnowledgey 2004
The FlexUSB cable employs a flexible
connector for use in confined spaces.
your CPU closer to the wall without
mangling the USB connector, take a
look at the FlexUSB cable from
Ideative, Inc. (www.FlexUSB.com).
Introduced at the 2004
International Consumer Electronics
Show in Las Vegas, NV, it utilizes less
than half the footprint of traditional
USB connectors and allows the cable
direction to be set and locked in four
different directions, eliminating the
"loop-around" required by other
cables. The device is USB 2.0
certified, comes with a one-year war-
ranty, and works with all Windows and
Mac computers and all USB devices. It
is currently available in major retail
stores in the US and 11 other countries.
Circle #121 on the Reader Service Card.
Save Money with Surplus
LEDs
I f you use LEDs and are on a budg-
et, it might be useful to visit
www.SurplusLED.com, a website
created late last year by LEDtronics
(www.led.net) to sell off surplus
products. SurplusLED.com was creat-
ed to service a range of consumers,
from purchasing agents to govern-
ment procurement officials, who want
to stretch their budgets in today's lean
economic environment. The inventory
changes daily and includes based LED
lamps and bulbs, products for PC
boards and displays, and discrete LEDs.
The products include 1.8 mm
green round dome LED panel dots,
red discrete cylindrical flat-top LEDs,
rectangular bicolor LEDs, green dif-
fused 5 mm square discrete LEDs,
red T134 (5 mm) flangeless low-
dome LEDs, discrete T1 (3 mm)
bicolor dome LEDs, and some con-
sumer LED products, such as LED
flashlights, LED key chain lights, flash-
ing LED safety vests, flashing mini
emergency xenon strobes, and direct
replacement 1157, 1156, 3157, and
3156 LED automotive tail/brake/turn
signal lights. Payment can be made via
PayPal for secure online transactions.
Visa, American Express, Discover, and
MasterCard are also accepted.
11
Tech2004.qxd 2/4/2004 11:02 PM Page 12
TechKnowledgey 2004
Industry and the according to research firm IDC
(www.idc.com). In a recent report,
Profession they wrote that, "Stronger than
18% Growth Forecast for expected mobile phone and PC
Semi Industry in 2004 shipments have stabilized average sale
prices and increased capacity utiliza-
A fter several years in the
doldrums, the semiconductor
industry appears to be poised for a
tion rates among suppliers. IDC expects
that unit shipments will grow in double
digits this year and next year for both
healthy growth rate of 18% this year, mobile phones and PCs, which will drive
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NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
Circle #132 on the Reader Service Card.
12
a healthy growth cycle for over half of
the semiconductor industry. From 2003
to 2008, IDC predicts that the semicon-
ductor market will grow at a compound
annual growth rate of 12%, rising from
$160 billion in revenue this year to
$282 billion in 2008."
Tadahiro Sekimoto to
Receive Award
T he Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE,
www.ieee.org) has named former
NEC Chairman Tadahiro Sekimoto as
recipient of the 2004 IEEE Medal of
Honor. The award celebrates
Sekimoto's, "pioneering contributions
to digital satellite communications, pro-
motion of information technology R&D,
and corporate leadership in computers
and communications." He is widely
credited with turning NEC into a world-
wide technical giant that excels in a
wide spectrum of modern technology.
For more than 50 years, IEEE Life
Fellow Sekimoto has been key to
NEC's digital communications research
efforts. At the frontier of digital technol-
ogy, he designed early pulse-code mod-
ulation (PCM) equipment, as well as
coding and decoding circuitry, in addi-
tion to contributing to the solution for
network synchronization. His seminal
work in digital and satellite communica-
tions formed the cornerstone for mod-
ern communications systems.
In the late 1960s, the challenge of
how to use multiple satellites to pro-
vide service to many points around
the world prompted Sekimoto to
develop a time-division multiple
access (TDMA) system and an auto-
matic routing system. Not only did his
work have a huge impact on satellite
communications, but these technolo-
gies also formed a foundation for cel-
lular telephony decades later.
The IEEE Medal of Honor, the
highest award given by the IEEE, is
bestowed upon individuals for their
exceptional contributions or extraordi-
nary careers in any IEEE field of inter-
est. Sekimoto will receive the Medal at
the annual IEEE Honors Ceremony in
Kansas City, MO, in June 2004. NV
MARCH 2004
Full Page.qxd 2/3/2004 11:02 PM Page 13

Circle #42 on the Reader Service Card.

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JustForStarters.qxd 2/4/2004 10:49 PM Page 16
Just For Starters
Just For Starters
Interface Choices — Part 1:Transistors
T
here are many projects
where a control circuit drives
or senses external or high-
current signals. Control circuits are
typically constructed with digital or
analog integrated circuits (ICs) that
have relatively low drive strengths.
TTL and CMOS ICs are capable of
driving a range from several hundred
microamps to several milliamps.
Such drive strengths may suffice for
one or two small LEDs, but what
about light bulbs, AC-powered a
ppliances, and motors? What about
situations where safety or noise con-
cerns prohibit directly connecting the
control circuit to a load being driven?
Many projects require a partial
or complete isolation between a
control circuit and its input/output
signals. Fortunately, there are
numerous solutions to this problem.
Selecting an appropriate scheme
depends on the type of isolation
required. This month's column dis-
cusses transistor-based isolation
techniques for DC control signals, as
compared to analog signals such as
audio or video. DC isolation requires
only the transmission of an on/off
state from one circuit to another.
Figure 1. The NPN BJT structure and its
electrical symbol.
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
16
Next month's column continues
the discussion with other isolation
techniques.
Transistors
The first question to ask is
whether true isolation or merely
amplification is required. If you want
to turn on a light bulb or drive a DC
motor, control signal amplification
may be all that is warranted. A few
tests to verify if this is the case
include:
• Is the load DC?
• Does the load share a common
ground with the control circuit?
• Is the load safe enough to not
cause a damaging voltage surge on
the control signal?
• Is the control circuit immune to
electrical noise that may emanate
from the load?
If the answer to all of these ques-
tions is yes, transistors may be most
appropriate for driving the load.
Transistors are solid-state
amplifiers that enable a
small control current to
modulate the flow of a
much larger current. There
are several basic types of
transistors. We will use
bipolar junction transistors
(BJTs) in this discussion
because they are common-
ly available and easy to
work with. Let's begin with
by Mark Balch
Basics For Beginners
a brief review of BJT operation.
NPN BJTs
BJTs are manufactured in two
varieties: NPN and PNP. NPN and
PNP refer to the stacking of positive-
ly and negatively doped silicon. Each
variety behaves similarly, but with
opposite polarities. To keep things
simple, we can use NPN BJTs as our
working example. A more complete
discussion of transistor usage and
operation can be found in my book,
Complete Digital Design. Figure 1
shows the basic silicon structure of
an NPN BJT and its corresponding
symbol in a circuit diagram. The
three contacts on a BJT are the
base, emitter, and collector. When a
sufficient voltage is applied to the
base-emitter junction, a large current
may flow from collector to emitter.
This voltage is approximately 0.7 V,
the forward voltage of a silicon
diode. (The base-emitter junction
forms a diode because P-N silicon
junctions naturally form diodes.)
Figure 2 shows the basic
hookup scheme for using an NPN
BJT in a digital, or DC, amplification
role. BJTs are also capable of AC
amplification, where the load is driv-
en with a higher amplitude version of
the input signal; however, we are
dealing with the DC amplification
required by typical high-current
loads. The emitter is grounded to
establish a ground return path for
the control signal and the high-cur-
rent load. The base is connected to
the control signal driver through a
current limiting resistor, RB.
MARCH 2004
 JustForStarters.qxd 2/4/2004 10:51 PM Page 17

ch Just For Starters

The Base Resistor
A current limiting resistor is
required to protect the transistor and
the driver. The base-emitter junction
has no inherent mechanism for limit-
ing the current flowing through it. Yet,
the junction tries to maintain approx-
imately 0.7 V across it. So, what hap-
pens if you connect a 5 V battery to
the base? The base will draw as much
current as it can until the voltage falls
below 0.7 V. In most situations, the
transistor will lose this battle and
simply overheat to the point of
destruction. A current limiting resistor
ensures that the base voltage can be
safely maintained at the silicon's nat-
ural 0.7 V threshold. Any excess
voltage is dropped across the resistor.
Selecting RB can be done with
varying degrees of accuracy, depend-
ing on how much current you are
trying to drive. BJTs relate the current
flowing into the base and collector
through a constant called beta, ß
(many transistor manufacturers refer
to ß as hFE). The collector current, IC,
may not exceed the product of ß
and the base current, IB. Put more
succinctly: IC = ßIB. Despite ß effects,
the circuit may further restrict the
collector (load) current. Beta varies
with the specific transistor. A
common value is ß = 100.
Many situations allow a rough
selection process for RB. Let's say
that you have a 74LS-type TTL driver.
When the driver goes high (greater
than about 2.7 V), the transistor will
turn on because the base will be
brought from low (0 V) to high. The
74LS family is specified with about
0.4 mA maximum high-level drive
strength. We can pick RB to use all of
that current to provide maximum
load current.
First, we calculate the voltage
drop across the resistor as the differ-
ence between the driver output volt-
age (2.7 V) and the base-emitter junc-
tion voltage (0.7 V), which is 2 V. Now,
using Ohm's law (V = IR), we find that
2 V divided by 0.4 mA gives a resist-
ance of 5KΩ. The standard resistance
value 4.7KΩ is good enough. That's it.
MARCH 2004
You can pick a different value if you are
using a CMOS driver with higher output
voltage and current.
At this point, the circuit in Figure
2 is capable of sinking up to 40 mA
(IC = ßIB = 100 x 0.4 mA) of load
current. Depending on the load's
characteristics, you may place a
current limiting resistor between the
load and collector, as well.
Maintaining
Operation
One thing to keep in mind is
the minimum permissible collector
voltage. A typical saturation voltage
between collector and emitter is 0.3 V.
In our circuit, the emitter is at ground
(0 V), so the saturation voltage is 0.3
V. If the collector falls below 0.3 V, the
transistor will no longer conduct. You
must ensure that the load can operate
in the voltage difference between the
saturation voltage (0.3 V) and the
power rail.
If the circuit is supplied with 5 V,
the allowable voltage difference is 4.7
V. If the load needs higher voltage,
you may introduce a higher supply
voltage, such as 12 V. Keep in mind
that the control circuit and load
power supplies must share a com-
mon ground connected to the emitter.
Higher Load
Currents
Transistors with higher ß are
available to provide more collector
current. Yet, a single BJT eventually
runs out of steam as higher load
currents are desired. Multiple transis-
tors may be cascaded in various
topologies, such as a Darlington Figure 3. A BJT in an input-sensing role.
pair to increase the final load
current. These circuits are out-
side the scope of this article.
What About
Inputs?
So far, we've covered only
control outputs. Inputs work sim-
ilarly, but the base is driven by
the external circuit being sensed.
Figure 2. Basic digital amplification
with an NPN BJT.
A transistor is useful in an input
sensing circuit if the external signal
falls outside the control circuit's
specifications. Typical digital ICs
restrict the logic input levels to be
within a diode drop of the IC's voltage
rails. If an IC runs on a 5 V supply, the
legal input range might be -0.7 to +5.7
V. Manufacturers may further restrict
this range to prevent damage to the IC.
Figure 3 shows an NPN BJT used
in an input sensing circuit. Here, we
assume that the input circuit ranges
from 0 to 12 V. The input may be a
hazard alarm or other sensor that
operates on a higher voltage. A 12 V
input is outside the legal range for
practically all logic ICs. We first select
a current-limiting base resistor, RB, to
provide a safe base current, IB. The
voltage across RB is known — the
input (12 V) minus the base-emitter
junction voltage (0.7 V) is 11.3 V. A
wide range of resistances is accept-
able for this application. 10KΩ yields
IB = 1.13 mA. Even 100KΩ gives an
acceptable IB = 0.113 mA. Keep in
mind that the transistor only has to
drive a logic input, so very little col-
17
JustForStarters.qxd 2/4/2004 10:50 PM
Just For Starters
lector current is required. This takes
care of the design work at the "dirty"
side of the circuit. On the control,
or clean, side of the circuit, we have
to connect the control input to the
transistor so that legal voltage levels
are generated for high and low logic
levels. The low voltage level is
determined for us by the transistor's
saturation voltage, about 0.3 V, which
is well within the typical 74LS specifi-
cation. The high voltage level is also
determined — this time by the control
circuit's voltage supply (5 V, in this
example). So, the remaining design
point is selecting a value for the
collector resistor, RC. Choosing RC is
a compromise and there is no single
correct answer. A higher resistance
About the Author
Mark Balch is the author of
Complete Digital Design (see www.
completedigitaldesign.com) and
works in the Silicon Valley high-tech
industry. His responsibilities have includ-
ed PCB, FPGA, and ASIC design. Mark
has designed products in the fields of
telecommunications, HDTV, consumer
electronics, and industrial computers. In
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
18
Page 18
reduces power consumption because
less collector current, IC, is required
to pull the collector down to 0.3 V. A
lower resistance more rapidly pulls
the collector up to 5 V when the tran-
sistor turns off. The compromise is
between power consumption and
signal rise time. A good place to start
is selecting RC = 4.7KΩ, correspon-
ding to IC = 1 mA. 4.7KΩ should give
a fast enough rise time. If not, 3.3KΩ,
2.2KΩ, or lower values can be used.
Logical Inversion
It is important to realize that
the input sensing circuit performs a
logical inversion function. When the
external signal is low (0 V), the tran-
addition to his work in product design,
Mark has actively participated in indus-
try standards committees and has pre-
sented work at technical conferences.
Mark holds a bachelor's degree in elec-
trical engineering from The Cooper
Union in New York City. He can be
reached via Email at mark@complete
digitaldesign.com
sistor is off. Therefore, no collector
current flows and RC pulls the logic
input high (5 V). When the external
signal is high (12 V), the transistor
conducts current through RC and the
logic input is pulled low (0.3 V). This
should not be a problem, but it must
be compensated for. If the external
event is deemed active when the sig-
nal is at 12 V, the control input should
regard an active state as logic-low.
Negative Input
Levels
The input circuit can also operate
and protect the control circuit from
negative input levels. If a negative
voltage is applied to the BJT's base,
the transistor will not conduct. The
transistor does not translate a nega-
tive base voltage to a negative collec-
tor voltage. However, a transistor does
have physical limits. Be sure to check
the manufacturer's data sheet for the
maximum allowable voltage from
emitter to base, which is typically in
the order of several volts.
Transistor Usage
Qualifications
Four qualifiers were listed earlier
for whether a transistor is an
appropriate isolator. Let's review
them with an understanding of BJT
basics in mind. First, the load has to
be DC because the transistor circuit
cannot handle an AC power signal.
Second, the transistor has a common
emitter terminal and, therefore, both
the driver and load must share that
common ground. Third, the transistor
can break down under high-ampli-
tude voltage surges. Fourth, load
noise (e.g. motor noise) can pass
from the collector to the base. Many
interface problems can be solved with
transistors. Transistors are compact
and reliable devices. Yet, other
options are available when transistors
are deemed unsuitable for a particu-
lar interfacing task. In next month's
column, we will discuss how optoiso-
lators and relays pick up where
transistors leave off. NV
MARCH 2004
Full Page.qxd 2/3/2004 9:18 PM Page 19

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MicroMemories.qxd 2/4/2004 11:25 PM
Micro Memories
Micro Memories
Bulletin Board Systems:
Before There Was a World Wide Web
I
n 1978, the Internet existed, but
it was still largely restricted to
universities and the military (and
still called Arpanet.) It was only a
year before that Hayes had released
the first modem for PCs. While
CompuServe (see the October 2003
“Micro Memories”) and the Source
were positioning themselves as
national online services, Ward
Christianson and Randy Suess of
Chicago had another idea for con-
necting groups of users to comput-
ers: the bulletin board systems or
BBS.
Christianson and Suess began
trying to build a personal computer
version of the large mainframes that
they had previously logged onto.
In 1977, Christianson wrote
Xmodem, the first computer pro-
gram used to transfer files between
computers equipped with modems.
The next year, he teamed with
Seuss to create the first BBS soft-
ware.
Many early BBS ran on Apple IIs and
provided information for their users.
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
20
Page 20
While early modems were built
primarily to allow personal computer
owners to log onto mainframes, they
also had the ability to be accessed
themselves, giving others the option
of logging onto that personal
computer.
The genius of Christianson and
Suess was in their effort to allow the
information on one computer to
be shared in a coherent, logical fash-
ion, modeled after the proverbial
town bulletin board. So, depending
upon the nature of the BBS, users
could dial-in, log-on, and exchange
computer information, movie
reviews, sporting news, etc. Most
BBS were free, but a few charged
membership fees or kept their virtual
doors open through selling products
to their members.
In an April 1980 interview
with Kilobaud Microcomputing
Magazine, (reprinted at www.port
commodore.com/commodore/
bbs/cbbs.html) the Chicago-based
The Commodore Pet was a late 1970s
and early 1980s PC that competed with
the Apple II and TRS-80.
by Ed Driscoll, Jr.
Christianson and Suess seemed
somewhat surprised by how popu-
lar their pioneering BBS had
become.
They reported getting calls
from as far away as Hawaii,
Australia, and Europe, with the
average user (no matter where he
was located) connecting for 20 min-
utes a pop.
Eventually, Christianson and
Suess began selling their software at
$50.00 a copy, though they admitted
at the time that they had little hope
of turning a profit.
Not surprisingly, other entrepre-
neurs arrived on the scene once
they saw the viability (not to men-
tion the actual idea!) of BBS soft-
ware.
The 1980s: BBS’
Heyday
While there weren't any $399 .00
eMachines or package deals that
The IBM PC was introduced in 1981
and became one of the dominant PC
designs of the 1980s.
MARCH 2004
 MicroMemories.qxd 2/4/2004 11:25 PM Page 21

Jr.

would throw in a free computer with a subscription to an

online service in the 1980s, the decade would turn out to
be the golden era of BBS. Personal computers and
modems did become more affordable than their predeces-
sors of the previous decade, as did telephone connectivity
charges.
PCs took off in popularity contemporaneously to the
Dungeons & Dragons phenomenon. So, it's not surpris-
ing that there were plenty of BBS geared towards role-
playing games, where each post was a new move in a
campaign.
As early as 1981, there were already adult-oriented
BBS. Other than ASCII art, there wasn't much in the way
of graphics, but there was plenty of verbal porn and even
a few products for sale.
In 1983, a John Deere employee named Bob
Mahoney started a single-line BBS on an IBM PC in his
Wisconsin apartment during Thanksgiving weekend,
with the goal of offering software programs and advice
to business people. His BBS, which he dubbed
Exec-PC, became one of the earliest fee-based bulletin
boards.
Within a year, Mahoney added a second line so that
callers didn't get a busy signal. By 1985, he had six lines
and 280 Mbytes of file storage; his wife began managing
the business side of the system. According to the
September/October 1994 issue of Wired, Mahoney
found that callers were willing to pay a modest $60.00
per year subscription fee to have access to lots of files.
They also liked not having to deal with the constant
busy signals they got when dialing single-line bulletin
boards.
By the time their Wired profile hit the newsstands,
Exec-PC featured 250 telephone lines and 24 Gigabytes of
file storage. It received 4,500 calls a day from a user base
that was downloading about 750,000 files a month. The
$75.00 user fee from each member resulted in an annual
gross income of almost two million dollars. After expens-
es, Mahoney could more than afford to indulge his hobby:
racing automobiles.

A Glimpse of the Future

However, the early 1990s development of a graphical
interface, which made the Internet user-friendly, would sig-
nal the eventual end to the vast majority of regional, dial-
in bulletin boards. (Eventually, for a large percentage of
online users, dialing-in itself would become an increasing-
ly quaint term.)
For example, by 1998, with the Internet boom in full
force, Bob Mahoney transferred his early experience and
the Exec-PC name to an extremely popular regional
Midwest ISP. He closed his BBS in 1999.
In 1992, John Dvorak awarded one of his Annual
Dvorak PC Telecomm-unications Excellence Awards to
Suess and Christianson for their development of the BBS.
MARCH 2004 Circle #136 on the Reader Service Card.
21
MicroMemories.qxd 2/4/2004 11:26 PM Page 22

The Imsai 8080 was a clone of the Altair

8800. Both were used by many early BBS
subscribers to go online in the late 1970s.

Dvorak presented his Lifetime

Achievement Award to Christianson,
"for outstanding contributions to PC
telecommunications, including the
development of the public domain
Xmodem file transfer protocol, the
first protocol widely used with person-
al computers."
Today, the two run a web-based
version of their original BBS at
www.chinet.com
If online providers — such as
CompuServe and AOL — proved the
viability of the Internet among every-
day consumers, then BBS gave us
an early glimpse of individually
owned websites and online forums,
their ability to reflect the personali-
ties and idiosyncrasies of their
owners, and that user-created
content could be an inviting
alternative to mass media.
For that alone, we should be
grateful. NV

The Altair 8800 was one of the first

personal computers. It could connect
to a BBS via an external modem.
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics

MARCH 2004
22
Full Page.qxd 2/3/2004 9:59 PM Page 23

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NutNVolt200401.qxd 2/3/2004 9:31 PM Page 24

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LetsGetTechnical.qxd 2/4/2004 11:31 PM Page 26
Let’s Get Technical
Electronic Theories and Applications From A to Z
Let’s Get Technical
Controlling the Light:
Hardware and Software Protocols
for the Fiber Communication Systems
L
ast time, we examined the between the transmitter and receiver.
basic operation of the simple Figure 2 shows the frame format.
fiber optic communication The format of the transmission
system shown in Figure 1. We saw frame (Start bit, D0 through D5,
that six data bits were packed into an Stop bit) represents a hardware
8-bit frame, with transmitter and protocol. This protocol must be used
receiver circuits on each end provid- at both ends of the communication
ing the parallel-to-serial and serial-to- link for reliable data transfer.
parallel conversions. The receiver must expect the same
This month, I will show the frame format or the frame bits
details behind the transmitter and will be interpreted differently at the
receiver circuits and explain how a receiver. Who knows what problems
software protocol is used to transmit might occur as a result of this?
eight bits of data. Since this is an asynchronous
Before we examine the transmit- communication system (no clock
ter and receiver hardware, let us transmitted with the data), we must
review the format of the 8-bit trans- use the Start and Stop bits as fram-
mission frame that is exchanged ing bits to assist in synchronization
between the transmitter
Figure 2. A transmission frame. and receiver. We shall
soon see that the falling
edge of the Start bit sets
the receiving machinery
in motion. Figure 3 shows
the schematic diagram of
the transmitter. Table 1
explains the input/output
signals.
Figure 1. Fiber optic communication link allowing full-duplex
communication between endpoints.
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
26
by James Antonakos
An 8-bit shift register is parallel
loaded (via the LOAD input) with the
six bits of frame data to transmit,
along with hard-wired start (0) and
stop (1) bits. Bits are clocked out at
a rate determined by TxCLK. When
the WR input clocks the D flip flop,
the Q-not output goes low, allowing
the 4-bit counter to begin counting
and changing the state of TxRDY.
After eight bits have been clocked
out, the output of the inverter goes
low, clearing the flip flop, which, in
turn, clears the counter. When the
counter output goes to 0000, the OR
gate allows the shift register to be
loaded with new data.
Figure 4 illustrates the receiver
circuitry; its input/output signals are
described in Table 2.
Unlike the transmitter, the receiv-
er uses an RxCLK clock that is 16
times faster than the incoming bit
rate. This allows the bit stream to be
sampled in the middle of each bit for
higher accuracy and helps eliminate
timing problems due to the slight
difference in clock frequencies on
each end of the communication link.
A falling edge on the RxD input
clocks a one through the first D flip
flop, allowing both counters to begin
counting. After the first eight RxCLK
pulses, the second counter gets
clocked once. This causes the start
bit to get loaded into the 8-bit receiv-
ing shift register. Then, every 16
RxCLK pulses, the second counter is
clocked again and another bit is
loaded into the shift register. After
MARCH 2004
 LetsGetTechnical.qxd 2/4/2004 11:37 PM Page 27

os Let’s Get Technical

eight bits have been received, the

inverter resets the first flip flop (stop-
ping the counters) and sets the
second flip flop, indicating that a
character has been received via
the RxRDY output. A latch on the
output of the shift register can be
used to buffer the received character,
allowing the reception of a second
character to begin immediately.
With the transmitter and receiver
speaking to each other, we now face
the final hurdle: How can eight bits of
data be transmitted with the existing
frame format? The answer is: They
cannot. So, we will use more than two
frames. In fact, a three-frame sequence
is used to transmit an 8-bit data value.
Examine Table 3 before continuing.
The six bits available in a frame
are divided into two groups: a control-
bit group and a data-bit group. Bits
D5 and D4 make up the 2-bit control
group. Since there are four different
patterns possible with two bits (00, Figure 3. Fiber optic transmitter circuit.

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27
LetsGetTechnical.qxd 2/4/2004 11:32 PM Page 28

Let’s Get Technical

bits is a software protocol.

Both ends of the commu-
nication link must agree
on how the six bits are
interpreted for proper
communication. Now, to
send eight bits of data
from one station to anoth-
er, one of the following
sequences must be used:

• A, LN, UN (little endian

format)
• A, UN, LN (big endian
format)

The ADR frame con-

Figure 4. Fiber optic receiver circuit.
01, 10, and 11), we get four frame
types by assigning D5 and D4 appro-
priately. The four bits in the data
group carry any of the following:
• The lower four bits of a data byte
(D0 through D3)
NUTS & VOLTS
• The upper four bits of a data byte
(D4 through D7)
• Four Address bits (to point to a
destination station)
• Four Reserved bits
This organization of the six frame
tains the address of the
destination station that
will be receiving the LN
and UN frames. Note that
16 addresses are possible,
since there are four
address bits in the ADR
frame. Patterns 0000 (0)
through 1110 (14) are
assigned as unique station addresses.
Address 1111 (15) is a broadcast
address; all stations will receive the
data when this address is used. Note
that the three frame sequences are yet
another layer of software protocol,
higher than the previous one that
defined the bit groups and frame
types. This layer shows how the frames
are used to convey information.
With the TxCLK running at 1.25
MHz, the bit rate over the fiber link will
be 1.25 Mbps. Dividing by eight gives
us 156,250 frames/second. Dividing
this result by three gives us 52,083
frame groups (ADR, LN, UN) or
the ability to transmit 52,083 eight-
bit data values end-to-end. As an
application, this would support six
simultaneous digital channels of 64
Kbps each over the fiber link. Each 64
Kbps channel could represent a digi-
tized telephone conversation (8,000

eight-bit samples/second is the phone

company sampling standard).
An old professor of mine once
Everything For Electronics

said, "First, make it work. Then, make

it pretty." What can we do to pretty up
the transmitter and receiver circuits?
For one, we could add error detection
MARCH 2004
28
LetsGetTechnical.qxd 2/4/2004 11:34 PM Page 29

Let’s Get Technical

Table 1. Transmitter circuit input/output signals. Table 2. Receiver circuit input/output signals.
Input/Output Input/Output
Signal description Signal description
Signal Signal
Parallel input data. D0 is the LSB and is transmitted first Parallel input data. D0 is the LSB and is received first (after
D0 - D5 D0 - D5
(after Start bit). Start bit).
Read. This input signal indicates that parallel data has been
WR Write.This input signal initiates a transmission. RD read from the latch and resets the RxRDY signal.
Transmitter clock. A bit is clocked out of the transmitter Receiver clock. A bit is clocked into the receiver every 16
TxCLK RxCLK
with each TxCLK cycle. RxCLK cycles.
Transmitter ready.This indicates the transmitter is ready Receiver ready.This output signal indicates the reception of a
TxRDY RxRDY
to begin a new transmission. new frame.

and correction. This would Table 3. Frame types and descriptions. being the symbolic names of
require the addition of at least the 110000 and 111111
D5-D4-D3-D2-D1-D0 Frame Type Description
one parity bit to the frame for- Reserved frames. Using one of
LN: Lower Frame carries the lower four bits
mat. One parity bit can only 0-0-D3-D2-D1-D0 Nybble of data byte. these groups saves us the
detect errors, not correct UN: Upper Frame carries the upper four bits time of one frame — a savings
them; two or more parity bits 0-1-D7-D6-D5-D4 Nybble of data byte. of eight bits of bandwidth
are required for error detection 1-0-A3-A2-A1-A0 ADR: Frame carries the address of a (ADR, CPAT versus ADR, LN,
Address destination station.
and correction. UN). If there are many pat-
RES:
For example, four parity 1-1-R3-R2-R1-R0 Reserved Reserved control frame. terns that look like 00000000
bits added to eight bits of data or 11111111 in the original
allow us to detect and correct all sin- ed with many patterns that look like data, a good savings in total transmis-
gle bit errors. So, we must add a par- this: 00000000 and 11111111. In this sion time (or bandwidth) will result.
ity generator to the transmitter and a case, you may want to use two of the So, we have seen that a digital
parity checker to the receiver. It is Reserved frame types to represent fiber optic communication system is
also possible to add the error detection each pattern. For example, let a combination of hardware and soft-
and correction at a higher protocol Reserved frame 110000 code the ware, with protocols established that
layer, using software instead of hard- 00000000 pattern and 111111 code allow each end of the communication
ware. For example, we could require the 11111111 pattern. Now, a special link to interface properly with each
that an ACK (acknowledgement) frame two-frame group is created to carry other. Next time, I will show a differ-
be returned after each frame group the “compressed” patterns. Thus, we ent fiber application, called the Fiber
(ADR, LN, UN) has been received. have (ADR, CPAT1) and (ADR, Optic Ring Oscillator, whose frequen-
We may also improve the perform- CPAT2) representing our compressed cy of oscillation is directly dependent
ance of the fiber communication patterns, with CPAT1 and CPAT2 on the speed of light in the fiber. NV
system by employing digital data com-
pression. For a system such as this, the
cost of the compression circuitry would
be far more than the cost of the simple
transmitter and receiver circuits.
Compression may also be preformed at
a higher layer, using software.
For instance, suppose you know
in advance that your data is populat-

About the Author

James Antonakos is a Professor in the
Departments of Electrical Engineering
Technology and Computer Studies at
Broome Community College, with over
27 years of experience designing digital
and analog circuitry and developing soft-
ware. He is also the author of numerous
textbooks on microprocessors, program-
ming, and microcomputer systems. You
may reach him at antonakos_j@
sunybroome.edu or visit his website at
www.sunybroome.edu/~antonakos_j

MARCH 2004 Circle #150 on the Reader Service Card.

29
Q&A.qxd 2/5/2004 2:44 PM Page 30
Q&A
Electronics Q&A
In this column, I answer
questions about all aspects
of electronics, including
computer hardware,
software, circuits, electronic
theory, troubleshooting, and
anything else of interest to
the hobbyist.
Feel free to participate
with your questions, as
well as comments and
suggestions.
You can reach me at:
TJBYERS@aol.com.
What's Up:
How capacitors work
and how to add life to
aging electrolytics.Two
PC power supply
solutions, an MCU
power interface, and
LED mood lights. A nifty
NUTS & VOLTS
reader circuit and two
schematic corrections
Everything For Electronics
from January 2004.
30
Basic Electronics
101: Capacitance
. This may fit in the category of a
Q foolish question, but I have been
curious about it for some time.
Assume a capacitor is made up of
two plates separated by a given
distance. Add a significant charge,
then disconnect the power source.
Now, physically separate the plates.
What happens to the charge?
John S.Young
Scottsdale, AZ
. It's not a foolish question and I'll
A bet most readers can't answer it.
When voltage is first applied to the
plates, the charge isn't immediately
transferred to the capacitor. Instead,
work has to be done to get the charge
on the plates (I'll spare you the math!)
—- work that is measured in Joules.
When you physically separate the
plates, you add work. The result is
added energy to the capacitor and
extra charge. In other words, you end
up with more charge and voltage than
before. Let's see what else happens at
the same time — refer to Figure 1.
Capacitance, on the other hand,
decreases. That's because capaci-
tance is inversely related to the dis-
tance between the plates, is directly
proportional to the area of the plates,
and isn't a factor of charge.
What happens if you keep the
battery attached when you separate
Figure 1
with TJ Byers
the plates? Contrary to what you may
think, the charge in the capacitor
decreases. Why? Because the battery
holds the voltage across the capacitor
constant, so, as you push the plates
apart and add work, the charge has to
decrease to satisfy Coulomb's Law. In
effect, you are pushing current back
into the battery with your physical
action. As before, the capacitance
decreases because of the increased
separation of the plates. I guess some
things never change.
HGH for Old
Electrolytics
. I recently took a box of Mallory
Q 6000 µF/60 V capacitors out of
storage, where they have been sitting
around for about 15 years. I would
like to use them in an upcoming
audio amplifier project, but have con-
cerns about the health of these elec-
trolytics. Can I use my variable power
supply to "reform" the caps or is there
a circuit I can build that will restore
these caps to their former glory?
Henry S.Wypa
Rose City, MI
. Electrolytics use a very thin film
A of oxide on the positive electrode
that serves as the dielectric between
the plates; the oxide needs a small
leakage current to keep the film in
place. If left unpowered for long peri-
ods of time, the oxide layer can break
down, making the capacitor into
more or less a dead short. If
power is applied to a capacitor
in this condition, the leakage
current can be excessive
enough to cause the cap to over-
heat and possibly even explode.
Reforming applies voltage
to the capacitor in a controlled
manner, so, if there is a short,
MARCH 2004
 Q&A.qxd 2/4/2004 11:58 PM Page 31

ers Q&A

Reforming
Figure 2 Figure 3 IN+
1490
Lamp
25uF
63V 1N4003 600
5W
IN-
+
1N5263B
56V Basic Solid-State Relay
+

+
115VAC 24VAC 25uF Device +5V
1k
100mA 63V Under Test
1N4003 >60V
Done IN+ IN+
Solid- Solid-
State State
Electrolytic Capacitor Reformer Out IN-
Relay
Out IN-
Relay

the current is limited to a safe level.
This allows the oxide layer to reform
slowly, without producing excessive
heat and gases. While you can ride
hard on your variable power supply to
reform an electrolytic, it's a very time-
consuming task. Reforming can take
up to several hours. A better solution is
the reformer circuit shown in Figure 2.
A 24 volt wall-wart and voltage
doubler provide the 60 volts needed
to reform the electrolytic. The 600
ohm resistor limits the reforming
current to 100 mA, an acceptable
level for caps of this size. If you can't
find a 600 ohm, 5 W resistor, one can
be made by stringing six 100 ohm,
1 W resistors together in series. (You
can reduce the reforming current for
lower capacitance values by increas-
ing the resistance. The acceptable
leakage limit can be calculated from
A = 0.01CV, where C = capacitance in
µF, V = applied voltage in volts, and A
= the leakage current in mA.) When
current flows through the cap, the
"reforming" lamp will light. As the
capacitor gets up to snuff and is able
to hold a charge, the lamp goes off
(current ceases to flow) and the
"done" LED lights.
SSR Meets MCU
. I am building a microprocess
Q or-based environmental control
system for a wine storage room. It
MCU
the right times and Logic-Low
in the right places. Active
However, I am
not sure of the
best way to use those logic levels to
actually turn something on, like a fan.
The fans I have are 24 VDC 0.2 amp,
brushless.
Also, I need to activate a refriger- and save a lot of dough.
ator motor, which is 120 VAC 1.1
amps. I've been trying to research this
myself, but there seem to be many
different devices that might work.
Should I be worried about noise
from these motors contaminating the
digital side of the system? I'd really
appreciate any help.
Dan Green, Jr.
Lynnwood,WA
. The best solution is a solid-state
A relay — SSR. The driver output
from the microcontroller/PC can be
either high or low, because the SSR
uses an LED interface. That is, your
processor output and the load are for-
ever isolated and you decide which
logic turns on the relay. To illustrate,
realize that the "coil" of a solid-state
relay is nothing more than an LED.
Given that premise, you can make the
outputs of whatever TTL-compatible
interface work with the relays in
Figure 3. If you want the relay to be
on, with the output low, the IN+ termi-
nal has to be connected to +5 V. If you
want the relay to be on when the logic
MCU
Logic-High
Active
expensive. With your meager voltage/
current requirements, I'd build the
SSR from scratch, using a 4N25 chip
and a transistor, as shown in Figure 4,
Again, the relay can be logic high
or low activated — you decide. What
I've done here is interface the 4N25 to
the microcontroller/PC output and
boost its current level to 800 mA,
using a 2N2222A transistor. I've
shown the controlled device as a fan
motor, but you can control any DC-
operated device within the 2N2222A's
40 volt, 800 mA power range.
Commodore Still
Alive
. I am trying to replace a defective
Q Commodore Plus/4 power supply,
but I'm not having much luck. A friend
gave me the schematic (Figure 4), but
some of the values are missing. I
wonder if you know what they are.
Craig Cook
Oak Harbor, OH
Solid-State Relay
40V, 800mA
+5V Vcc

is designed around the Maxim/Dallas output is high, then the IN- terminal has 4N25 Fan
1-Wire line of products (including the to be grounded. A suitable SSR for your IN+ Motor
DS18S20-PAR digital temperature AC-powered refrigerator is the Sharp
IN-
sensor and DS2405 addressable S101N12, available from Digi-Key 470
2N2222A
switch) and I have a fairly good grasp (800-344-4539; www.digikey.com).
of the digital side of the system, as in Although there are DC-
having the right 1s and 0s show up at voltage solid-state relays, they can get
Figure 4
MARCH 2004 31
Q&A.qxd 2/4/2004 11:59 PM Page 32

Q&A

Blue
Pin3 +6V Figure 7
9VAC
Jameco LED Fader
Fuse 102234 Brown
1A 1N4001 7805 Pin1 8 4 +6V
+5VDC 10k
9VAC IN OUT 7
115VAC 1A
COM 3

+
+
100k 555
Black
6 47uF
220uF 0.33 0.1 Pin2
Figure 5 GND 2 1k
100k
Blue 47uF 1 5 Direction 100k
Commodore Power Supply Pin4
9VAC
.01 2N2222

Jameco (800-831-4242; www.

jameco.com) for about $5.00.
The design calls for four
1N4001 diodes, but feel free to
substitute a full-wave rectifier,
like the DF04 (Jameco
102971). Be sure that you
heatsink the 7805 regulator to
prevent thermal shutdown.

Off-Line Power
Figure 6
Supply Basics
. I have a Citizen GSX-130

A . The power supply for the Plus/4

is the same as the C-64 — a black
brick with two output voltages: 5 volts
DC at about 1 amp and 9 volts AC.
With a plug change, you can use
the C-64 power supply with the
HobbyEngineering
The technology builder's source for kits, components, supplies, tools, books and education.
Robot Kits For All Skill Levels
Books and
NUTS & VOLTS
Plus/4, but I would recommend a
more reliable power pack than the
Q DMP printer that has a
power supply problem. There is high
old Commodore brick, like the one voltage DC present, but no 5 or 27
shown in Figure 5. volt output. It looks like an SMPS type
The transformer is a 9 VAC of circuit because the transformer has
wall-wart that you can buy from a primary and a secondary winding,
plus a large power transistor.
Markings on the transistor are K1452
and 1E3. Where can I find a schemat-
ic diagram and information on the
power transistor?
John Brittan
Schoolcraft, MI
ICs, Transistors, Project Kits
. I can't find a specific schematic
Motors, Frame Components
and Scratch Builder Supplies.
A for this printer, but a generic ver-
sion of what you describe is shown in
Figure 6. The transistor is a 2SK1452
Order by Internet, phone, fax or mail.
MOSFET with a reverse breakdown
www.HobbyEngineering.com voltage of 450 volts and a maximum
1-866-ROBOT-50 forward current of 10 amps. A suit-
able substitute is the NTE2394.

Educational K 1-866-762-6850
1-650-875-0715 The fact that you have high
1-650-952-7629 (fax)
sales@HobbyEngineering.com voltage leads me to believe the prob-
1405 Huntington Avenue, Suite 150 lem isn't the transistor itself, but the
Everything For Electronics

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Visit our showroom near SFO! sistor. The controller can be anything
from a simple comparator (like an
Most orders ship the day received! World-wide shipping. Convenient payment options. LM339) to a dedicated IC controller.
MARCH 2004
32
Q&A.qxd 2/5/2004 12:00 AM Page 33

Q&A

Moody LEDs Figure 8 5V - 12V Vcc Threshold

Figure 9
Pin8 Pin6
. I create artwork with LEDs
Q and I need a simple, cost-effec-
tive method to slowly fade an LED
100k 100k 1k R1
+ Control
from bright to dim, then to bright 10k Pin5
Flip-
again over a period of about two 100k R2 Flop
22uF 1M
seconds — like the sleep indicator on 100k
220k +
my MAC Titanium. Could you supply
R3
such a circuit diagram, preferably LED Fader
one that does not require an IC?
180k 555 Inputs

+
10uF 10k
Chris Raney-Phairoh Pin1 Pin2
via Internet GND Trigger

. The answer is a qualified yes.

A Yes, I can provide a fader circuit
using transistors, but it requires three
notice that, in other designs, it is
sometimes there and sometimes it is
of the RC network. For example, the
control voltage may be varied from
transistors, or more, plus a handful of not. In my experiments, it seems 45% to 90% of the Vcc in the mono-
resistors and capacitors. However, that this serves no noticeable stable mode, making it possible to
you might want to try the circuit in purpose. Would you mind providing control the width of the output pulse.
Figure 7. It's compact, cheap, and a short explanation as to why it is When it's used in the astable mode,
easily tucked into a small space. The there? the control voltage can be varied from
problem is that the Direction pin has Calvin Hirmke 1.7 V to the full Vcc to produce a fre-
to be toggled between Vcc and GND Denver, CO quency-modulated (FM) output.
to create the cycling effect. This When the Control pin is not
signal can be supplied by a square- . Inside the 555 chip is a resist- used, it's recommended that it be
wave generator, like the 555 oscillator
shown in the insert box, which can be
A ance voltage divider that steers
the operation of the comparators and
bypassed to ground with a small,
ceramic capacitor of about 0.01 µF
located far away from the LED itself flip-flop (Figure 9). Pin 5 (Control) for immunity to noise to the
(notice that a third wire is required) allows direct access to the upper comparator input and to prevent
and can be used to drive more than comparator. By applying a voltage to false triggering. This is particularly
one LED fader. Unfortunately, the this pin, it's possible to vary the critical when using the CMOS ver-
Direction signal has to be synchro- timing of the device independently sion of the 555.
nized with the time constant of
the RC combination to be fully
effective. Otherwise, you get one with
a lot of on/off time lag (which may be
beneficial in some situations).
A better solution is to generate a
triangular wave and use it to drive the
LED, like the circuit in Figure 8. While
this looks complex, the part count
is less than a transistorized equivalent
and the fade time is controlled by
a single component: the 22 µF capac-
itor. More capacitance means slower
fade time. Any op amp will work, but
using a dual op amp combination, like
the LM358 or equivalent, will consid-
erably reduce the size of the module.

The Mysterious 555

Control Input
. In your designs, you place a .01
Q capacitor on pin 5 of the 555. I
MARCH 2004 Circle #128 on the Reader Service Card.
33
Q&A.qxd 2/5/2004 12:00 AM Page 34

Q&A

Figure 10 +12V
0-60 min. 0-60 min. 0-60 min. 0-60 sec.

1M 1M 1M 1M

10k 10k 10k 10k

10k 10k 10k 10k 1k Solenoid
5 Out Out Out Out
Vcc
+

+
13
Reset
1N4148 558 3300uF 558 3300uF 558 3300uF 558 68uF
Trigger Trigger Trigger Trigger
Q1
Timing Timing Timing Timing NPN
Start
12 4
.01
10k

558 Timer

Prevent Compressor
Rust
. I am trying to build a timing
Q circuit to operate a drain valve for
my air compressor. Basically, I need
two timers, both independently
adjustable by using potentiometers.
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
The first timer needs to be adjustable
from 30 to 180 minutes; the second
timer needs to be adjustable from 15
to 60 seconds. When the time is up
on the first timer, it starts the second
timer. This opens a solenoid valve to
drain water from the compressor's air
tank. This cycle repeats itself over
and over to guarantee that there is no
water build up in the storage tank.
Bill Blackburn
via Internet
. This design cries for an NE558
A timer IC — a specialized version
of the 555, with four timers in one

MARCH 2004
34
Q&A.qxd 2/5/2004 12:01 AM Page 35

Q&A

package. Unlike the Vref Vcc Vcc +9V

555, the timer stages of Audible Continuity
LED
the 558 can be cascad- Input LM339 1k Tester

+
ed without the need for RadioShack 9.1k 3k
R1
coupling capacitors, 1k 273-059 LMC662
LED + Sensitivity

-
thus making the design LM339 1k
500
simpler. In fact, it lends +Red
Test
R2
itself well to ring-counter 1k Probes
LED 10k 220 1N4148 -Black
topology, which is the LM339 1k
design I'm using for R3
your circuit (Figure 10). 1k
LED
+ LMC662
The timers are LM339 1k
arranged in a ring, with
R4
the output of the last 1k 10k 1k

timer looping back and Basic Voltmeter Figure 12

triggering the first timer.
The sequence is initiat-
ed when you press the
"Start" button. When the first timer
times out, it triggers the second,
which sequentially triggers the third.
The first three timers — which repre-
sent your first timer state — are cali-
brated for 0 to 60 minutes delay using
the 1 M potentiometer. Their total
Figure 11
time is the
sum of the three dials. For example, if
each pot is set for 30 minutes (half
rotation), the total time is 90 minutes.
The final timer (0-60 seconds)
actuates the water valve. For this part
of the design, you're on your own.
You need to select a transistor (Q1)
that can carry the current the sole-
noid requires and provide any EMF
protection (via a diode or MOV). The
transistor must also have enough
gain to be fully saturated when the
output of the final 558 timer goes
high. Because the 558 has an open-
transistor output, the value of the pull-

MARCH 2004 35
Q&A.qxd 2/5/2004 2:44 PM Page 36
Q&A
Figure 13
down resistor (1 k) can be as low as
120 ohms before the 558's ratings
are exceeded, which should be plen-
ty of base current to saturate a 5-amp
transistor, like the TIP120. When the
valve closes, the first timer is trig-
gered again and the loop continues.
My Bucket Has a
Hole in it
. I need two Seticon SAD4096
Q (Bucket Brigade) ICs — the ones
used in a Centaur (1980s) pinball
game. Are equivalent ICs useable as
replacements or is there an alterna-
tive design arrangement available to
perform the same function? Some
functional limitations might be
acceptable if they are known.
C. Casiday
cccas@dslextreme.com
. Once the mainstay of solid-
A state audio delay, Bucket
Brigade ICs are long obsolete. Today,
the signal is digitized and stored in
memory (typically RAM) for retrieval
at a later time, much like the way
digital oscilloscopes create signal
delay. The maximum delay time is
NUTS & VOLTS
determined by the digitizing rate and
the depth of the memory. I'm afraid
this would be more of a project than
Everything For Electronics
you want to undertake for your "toy".
Fortunately, there are still a few
Bucket Brigade chips floating
around out there. They can be found
36
in old musical reverb units (including
some kits) from the 80s and
electronic organ boards of the same
era. You aren't limited to the Seticon
SAD series. Chips from Panasonic
(the MN30xx/MN32xx) and Reticon
(R5106) can be made to work using
a daughterboard that plugs into your
existing sockets. Try the following
two websites first. If they don't work,
let's hope one of our readers will
have a few laying around that they
are willing to part with. Good luck!
www.parastream.com/hardware
www.analogman.com/parts.htm
Oops — Corrections
Ahead!
It appears that errors appeared
in two schematics published in the
January 2004 issue. Here are the
correct drawings.
Figure 11 (Figure 1 in the Jan.
issue), the "LED Voltmeter," has the
wrong comparator designation — it
was originally designed for an LM324.
Here is the correct schematic for the
LM339 comparator. Figure 12, the
"Audible Continuity Tester," has an
extra line that looks like a wire and
creates a short on the input probes.
Here is the correct schematic.
MAILBAG
Dear TJ,
In regard to your answer, "High-
Power PM Speed Controller," that's
a sizable motor with a pretty "stiff"
input characteristic. Your circuit
would be just fine with a series-
wound motor, but Paul should
expect to see peak currents of 100
amps or more until the motor
comes up to speed.
Limiting these peak currents
could be achieved by something
as simple as using a long (20’,
say) piece of line cord, like
the one on a vacuum cleaner,
because of its significant
resistance. I use this technique for
powering up things that can be
dead shorts because you have
Co
enough time to figure them out and
pull the plug before the breaker or
fuse pops. This motor is similar to one
I took off a treadmill and I noted that
it used an inductor (about the size of
a small avocado) with the speed con-
trol, doubtless to limit current.
If Paul goes ahead without a long
cord or an inductor, maybe the solid-
state stuff should be sized to handle
about 50 amps RMS. He may be better
off dialing the speed up, not just plug-
ging it in with the high speed already
set. By the way, these speed con-
trollers are for sale from places like
Johnstone Supply and WW Grainger.
Rosser B. Melton, Jr.
Denton,TX
Dear TJ,
Here is a schematic for a very
simple 60 Hz frequency meter
(Figure 13) that I use in my motor
home. It uses less parts than the one
you published in the January 2004
issue ("RPM to Hertz") and is proba-
bly just as accurate. As I remember
it, the meter is a 1 mA movement,
scaled 0 to 10, with six being the 60
Hz point that I calibrate from the
commercial power line.
Rick Shepard AI5H
via Internet
Cool Websites!
Mars Rover JPL website. Updated daily.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
MarsDaily:Your portal to Mars
www.marsdaily.com/
Space telescopes:
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
http://chandra.harvard.edu/
GLAST
http://glast.gsfc.nasa.gov/public/resources/
brochures/trifold/trifold_web.pdf
Hubble
http://hubblesite.org/
Spitzer (Space Infrared Telescope Facility)
www.spitzer.caltech.edu/
XMM-Newton
http://sci.esa.int/sciencee/www/area/
index.cfm?fareaid=23
MARCH 2004
Full Page.qxd 2/3/2004 10:18 PM Page 37

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MARCH 2004 Circle #50 on the Reader Service Card.
37
New Products.qxd 2/6/2004 9:28 AM Page 38
New Product News
A HIGH-DENSITY 1U 350
WATT POWER SUPPLY FOR
DISTRIBUTED ARCHITECTURE
APPLICATIONS
E merson
Network
Power, a
division of
Emerson,
has intro-
duced a new 350
watt bulk power supply in a compact
package that is ideally suited for product designs using
distributed power architecture. The high-efficiency
switching power supply from their Astec Power division
is the first model in the new high-density 4 x 7 power
supply family. The NTS353 weighs in at 8.3 watts per
cubic inch and can deliver up to 350 watts of total
power.
Featuring active power factor correction to minimize
input harmonic distortion, the Astec Power NTS353 is a
compact 85-264 VAC power supply that is ideal for 1U
(1.75-inch) rack installations and other low-profile
applications. The unit can deliver its full rated output of
350 watts with 30 CFM forced air or 200 watts with
convection cooling.
The device is also suited for use as an AC-DC front
end for DC-DC converters in a wide variety of
applications, including telecommunications, networking,
test and measurement, single-board computers, and
gigabit Ethernet devices. A built-in ORing diode eliminates
the need for external circuitry when using the unit in a
redundant configuration. For maximum versatility, it is
also available with a top cover fan, designated by a –CF
suffix on the model number.
Only 1.5 inches high, the Astec Power NTS350 has a
footprint of only four by seven inches and can be set up
for lengthwise or crosswise airflow, giving designers
layout flexibility.
The device also features a 12 V 1 A auxiliary output
and 5 V at 2 A standby output, as well as overload, over-
voltage, and thermal protection.
The Astec Power NTS353 includes a built-in Class B
EMI filter, remote sense, remote inhibit, and single-wire
parallel on the primary output that enables current-
sharing to balance loads. It also has an operating
temperature range of zero to 50°C without derating and
NUTS & VOLTS
can function up to 70°C by derating the output 2.5
percent per degree Celsius. It complies with IEC
EN61000-3-2 harmonic and IEC EN61000-4-X
Everything For Electronics
susceptibility standards.
With a demonstrated mean time between failures
(MTBF) of over 550,000 hours at full load in 25°C
ambient conditions, as well as excellent vibration
38
tolerance, the units are designed for long life and trouble-
free operation. They also comply with worldwide safety
and performance standards from UL, CSA, VDE, NEMKO,
AUSTEL, CB, and CE.
Available now, pricing begins at $299.00 in OEM
quantities. For more information, please contact an Astec
Power representative in your area. To locate a
representative, go to the Astec Power website and click on
the sales office button on the home page.
For more information, contact:
ASTEC POWER
5810 Van Allen Way
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Tel: 760-930-4600
Email: tomtillman@astec.com
Web: www.astecpower.com
Circle #117 on the Reader Service Card.
WIRELESS INTERFACE MODULE
AND EVALUATION KIT
L EMOS International has announced the SPM2-433-28
Transceiver bi-
directional wireless
interface module,
available in 433.92,
869.85, and 914.5
MHz frequencies.
Complete with built-
in command line
configuration and
link diagnostics, the
SPM2-433-28 even
has remote open-air
unit configuration
capability; it has a range up to 200 m outdoors and 50 m
indoors. The SMP2 has a DTE speed of 600-115,200
bps and an air data speed of 600-14,400 bps. It has
point-to-point addressability and provides point-to-multi-
point and broadcast capabilities. With a digital serial
interface and hardware-free flow control, the unit also
has a low operating current and auto standby mode. An
evaluation kit is available for the 23 mm x 39 mm x 4
mm SPM2-433-28, which conforms to EN300 220-3 and
EN301 489-3.
The SPM2 Evaluation Kit is compatible with PDAs,
organizers, and laptops; it is suited for all handheld and
portable terminals, as well as EPOS equipment, barcode
scanners, and belt clip printers. It is ideal for many data
acquisition and monitoring applications, including audi-
ence response, in-building environment, advanced securi-
ty and fire alarm, restaurant ordering, and vehicle data
systems.
MARCH 2004
New Products.qxd 2/6/2004 9:29 AM Page 39

New Product News

For more information, contact: Brushless DC motors, six PMDC motors, or as

complementary H-bridge drivers for three PMDC motors.
LEMOS INTERNATIONAL CO., INC. The multimode Timers can be used as three channels
1305 Post Rd., Ste. 305 of Quadrature Decoders or three channels of Step and
Fairfield, CT 06430 Direction counters. Individually, they can also measure
866-345-3667 Fax: 203-254-7442 pulse width, time ultrasonic ranging pulses, generate
Email: sales@lemosint.com pulses, or drive IR 40 KHz transmitters, etc. They can also
Web: www.lemosint.com generate PWM outputs to drive another six R/C Servos.
Circle #140 on the Reader Service Card. Since the PWM and Timer modules are supported in
set-and-forget hardware modules, the processor is free to
perform higher level functions, such as acceleration-
TINIPOD™ — TINY limited, velocity-profiled control of the moves of up to 12
R/C Servos at the same time, and still have time left over
CONTROLLER IS for other tasks.
POWERFULLY FEATURED Similarly, using the Timer modules as Quadrature
decoder inputs, the processor can implement PID and

T he new TiniPod™,
a tiny 1.0" x
1.3" controller
acceleration-limited, velocity-profiled control of the moves
of three axes of motion control at the same time, and do
other tasks such as communications via serial or CANBus.
board, ships this The CANBus opens the possibility of distributed
month from processing networks, particularly in automotive and
New Micros, Inc. industrial applications, so parallel hardware can be
The TiniPod is a combined with parallel software. The TiniPod can be
complete micro- programmed in a number of languages: C (third party),
controller sys- Small C (included), Forth, or the resident IsoMax (included).
tem with a built IsoMax is based on state machine programming
in high-level-lan- concepts. Programming real time tasks amounts to
guage and parallel processing operating system, IsoMax™. describing virtual machines that will sense conditions, take
Hardware features on this new processor include 16 actions, and move to new states. The machine
General Purpose Digital I/O lines, one RS-232 serial construction is very readable. Development is interactive
channel, and CAN Bus. The GPIO lines share functions through the RS-232 and will typically be done on a PC,
with a four-wire SPI Interface, six General Purpose Timers, laptop, PDA, or any serial device — even dynamically by
and six Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) outputs. another microprocessor. Programming in IsoMax means
The PWM outputs are hardware based and can be used interactively creating new processor tasks — each being a
to control six R/C Servos or grouped to control three-phase state machine or thread — and then testing that code.

Order online at: microEngineering Labs, Inc. Phone: (719) 520-5323

Fax: (719) 520-1867
Box 60039
www.melabs.com Development Tools for PICmicro MCUs Colorado Springs, CO 80960

LAB-X Experimenter Boards EPIC Programmer - $59.95 Books on PicBasic and PICmicro MCUs
Assembled hardware platforms Programming PIC Microcontrollers with PicBasic $49.95
for development. Each has RS- Experimenting with the PicBasic Pro Compiler $39.95
232 serial port, clock oscillator, PIC Basic - An Introduction $34.95
power supply, plus other PIC Microcontroller Project Book $29.95
hardware. ICSP connection Easy Microcontrol'n $29.95
allows you to make program Time'n and Count'n $34.95
changes without removing the Microcontrol'n Apps - PIC MCU Application Guide $44.95
MCU. Bare PCBs available. Serial Communications Using PIC Microcontrollers $49.95
LAB-X1 for 40-pin MCU (shown) Assm: $199.95, Bare: $49.95 Low cost programmer for PIC12Cxxx,
LAB-X2 for 28 or 40-pin MCU Assm: $69.95, Bare: $24.95 12CExxx, 12Fxxx, 14Cxxx, 16C505, PICProto Prototype Boards
LAB-X3 for 18-pin MCU Assm: $119.95, Bare: $24.95 55x, 6xx, 7xx, 84, 9xx, 16CE62x, PICProto3 for 28-pin PICmicro MCUs (3" x 3") $14.95
LAB-X4 for 8 or 14-pin MCU Assm: $124.95, Bare: $24.95 16Fxxx, 17C7xx, 18Cxxx, and 18Fxxx PICProto4 for 8-pin or 14-pin (1.5" x 3") $9.95
microcontrollers. Can be used for PICProto8 for 8-pin (1.2" x 2") $8.95
PicBasic Compiler In-Circuit programming. Connects PICProto18 for 18-pin (1.5" x 3") $9.95
to parallel port. Software included PICProto18L for 18-pin (3.6" x 4.1") $19.95
PicBasic converts your BASIC programs
for DOS and Windows 9x/ME/2K/XP. PICProto64 for 40-pin (3.6" x 4.1") $16.95
into files that can be programmed
directly into a PICmicro MCU. Make EPIC Assembled $59.95 PICProtoUSB for 28-pin or 40-pin (3.6" x 4.1") $19.95
use of the latest microcontroller EPIC Bare PCB $34.95 PICProto80 for 64 or 80-pin TQFP (3.6" x 4.1") $19.95
technology without learning C or 40/28 pin ZIF Adapter $34.95 PICProto80 with pre-soldered PIC18F8720 $60.00
Assembler. Compatible with DOS and AC Adapter $9.95 PICProto prototyping boards are designed to help you get your PICmicro
Windows 9x/ME/2K/XP. EPIC Bundle $99.95 projects finished faster, with less effort. There is a high-quality blank PICProto
PicBasic Compiler $99.95 (bundle includes EPIC, AC Adapter, board for almost every PICmicro microcontroller. Each double-sided board has
PicBasic Pro Compiler $249.95 25-pin Cable, and 40/28 pin ZIF) a solder mask on both sides and hundreds of plated-through holes for your parts.

MARCH 2004 39
New Products.qxd 2/6/2004 9:29 AM Page 40

New Product News

Virtually Parallel Machine Architecture (VPMA) is a tions.

new programming paradigm possible with IsoMax. VPMA
allows more than one of these machines to be installed
into the background process. All these installed machines
run independently in a virtually parallel fashion. All the
tasks are handled on the same level, with each running
like its own separate little machine. VPMA on the TiniPod
can be compared to running dozens of Stamp-like
microcomputers in parallel.
When the programmer is satisfied with performance of
a new machine, it can be installed into a chain of machines.
The machines installed in the chain become background
features of the TiniPod until removed or replaced.
The IsoMax language is inherently "multitasking"
without the overhead or complexity of a multitasking
operating system. A useful single state machine can be
written with as little as three lines of code. The interactive
foreground always remains available for further
interactive development and interactive checking on the
running machines. The combination of IsoMax software,
VPMA structure, and diverse hardware makes TiniPod
very versatile. TiniPod is ideal for dedicated control of DC
motors, BDCM, stepper motors, solenoids, and motion
and control applications in general. It also works well for
data collection and many networked control applications.
The TiniPod was made incredibly small, while still
maintaining large enough connectors for easy human
access. All connectors have .1" spacing. The board is
only 1.0" x 1.3" and plugs into a prototype area or socket
just 0.2" x 1.2".
The TiniPod brings an amazing amount of computing
and control function to a very small space at a very
reasonable cost. A single unit is $79.00 with linear
regulators installed. Other regulator options are available.
For more information, contact:
The PDV-040 can record any audio/video resources
and covert them in real-time into near DVD quality MP4
video and store them into its built-in 20GB HDD, for a
maximum of 42 hours of MP4 video recording (40GB
HDD).
It can also be applied as an audio recorder via its
built-in microphone, storing data on its hard disk in MP3
format. Audio data can be archived to PC via its built-in
USB 2.0 interface.
Substantially smaller than previous DVR devices,
the PDV-040 is powered by either a rechargeable
Lithium-ion battery or 12 VDC. The unit comes
standard with composite A/V input/output ports.
Display is available on its built-in 3.5" TFT LCD color
monitor or a connected TV or projector. The package
also includes earphone, carrying case, battery charger,
and cables.
Overall dimensions are 5-1/8" W x 3-3/8"H x 1-3/8"D.
Total weight is 0.67 lbs.
For more information, contact:
MATCO, INC.
2246 N. Palmer Dr., Ste. 103
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Tel: 847-303-9700; 800-719-9605
Fax: 847-303-0660
Web: www.matco.com
Circle #123 on the Reader Service Card.
MAKE NOISE WITH THE SERIAL
µMP3 MODULE

NEW MICROS, INC.

1601 Chalk Hill Rd.
R ogue Robotics intro-
duces the new µMP3™
(pronounced
Dallas,TX 75212 “micro MP3”)
Tel: 214-339-2204 serial MP3
Email: nmisales@newmicros.com module. The
Web: www.newmicros.com µMP3 module
Circle #133 on the Reader Service Card. allows OEM designers and
hobbyists to integrate high
quality MP3 playback into proj-
ects using an easy-to-use TTL serial control protocol.
PDV-040 POCKET The µMP3 module also has a multi-function, eight-pin
DIGITAL VIDEO connector that operates in either direct sound playback
RECORDER (eight configured files or playlists) or push button player
NUTS & VOLTS

mode (play, stop, forward, etc). Each module has a stereo

E verSecure™, a Matco
Company, introduces
headphone jack and a mono 325 mW amplified speaker
connector.
Everything For Electronics

the new PDV-040 Pocket The module has 1 MByte of onboard flash storage
Digital Video Recorder, and a connector on the reverse side for an SD/MMC card
specifically designed for up to 1 GB in size in FAT16/32 format. MP3 Playback is
mobile surveillance applica- CBR or VBR and up to 48 KHz at 320 Kbps.
MARCH 2004
40
New Products.qxd 2/6/2004 9:29 AM Page 41

The µMP3 module is a small (2.5” by 2”) footprint
board. The TTL serial is configurable from 9600 to 115 K
bps. It requires a 5 V-regulated source at 150 mA and has
an onboard 3.3 V LDO regulator.
Software for MP3 organization, I/O configuration, and
play list creation is included. The kit also includes a
bundled text to MP3 speech creation package — Text
Aloud MP3 — trial version (30 days from Nextup.com).
The µMP3 module is perfect for OEM, kiosk,
advertising, real estate, robotics, or any project where you
want to make your product produce clear speech or
music. With up to 4,000 files per device, you can create
libraries of speech or music, controlled from your
microcontroller.
The µMP3 module retails for $99.95 (US, qty. one) and
only $49.00 each (US, qty. 1,000).
For more information, contact:
ROGUE ROBOTICS
103 Sarah Ashbridge Ave.
Toronto, ON M4L 3Y1
Canada
Tel: 416-707-3745 Fax: 647-439-1577
Email: info@roguerobotics.com
Web: www.roguerobotics.com
Circle #108 on the Reader Service Card.
Cricket system, and a serial port connector for serial
control at 9,600 or 19,200 baud. A native OOPIC Gamoto
Object is in development.
Gamoto is flexible — up to eight Gamotos can be on
the same I2C or Cricket bus. The address of each motor is
set using dip switches.
Gamoto is strong — high-speed encoder feedback
allows precise control over position, speed, and
acceleration of brushed DC motors up to three amps.
Trapezoidal motion profile processing allows
acceleration ramp, constant velocity cruise, and then
deceleration ramp down. Eight profiles can be stored in
flash.
Gamoto is sensitive — current sense feedback actively
detects torque and collisions. Four analog inputs allow
connection of additional sensors.
And, lastly, it’s easy going — the firmware is
upgradeable.
For more information, contact:
GAMATRONIX
Tel: 978-567-8925
Email: sales@gamatronix.com
Web: www.gamatronix.com
Circle #151 on the Reader Service Card.

THE SMART MOTOR

CONTROLLER

G amatronix
introduces the new
Gamoto, a smart PID
closed-loop motor controller
designed with robot hobbyists and
students in mind. Key features
include power, precision, speed,
communication options, and ease
of use.
Gamoto is smart — it gives you
three choices for communication: I2C
bus, a Cricket Bus connector with
pigtail for easy plug-in to the Handy
MARCH 2004 Circle #113 on the Reader Service Card.
41
Dubuc.qxd 2/4/2004 10:54 PM Page 42

Project by Martin Dubuc

Adding Sound To
Your Projects
This Month’s
Projects Grab Ears Along With Imaginations

W
inbond offers a suite of integrated a lower sampling rate (lower recording quality).
Adding Sound . . . . . . .42
HDD Exerciser . . . . . 46 circuits that you can leverage to add For 60-second recordings (ISD2560), the
Frequency Counter . . 51 sound capability to your electronic proj- sampling rate is 8 kHz. For 120-second recordings
ects. I will introduce two of their product lines — (ISD25120), it is 4 kHz. The sampling rate defines
the ChipCorder and the Text-to-Speech integrated the quality of the recording. To give you a basis
circuits — and discuss some of their applications. for comparison, compact disks are sampled at
Winbond voice and speech chips use a similar 44.1 kHz, while voice on your telephone is
architecture. These chips contain four major sampled at 8 kHz. The ISD25xx contains the
The Fuzzball blocks: non-volatile memory (also called circuitry to receive three different types of audio
NVRAM) to store uncompressed voice or audio, inputs: microphone (MIC), audio in (ANA IN), and
Rating System the necessary functions to process audio input, auxiliary in (AUX IN). The ISD25xx also contains
the required circuitry to produce audio output, the amplification circuit for the audio output. A
To find out the level
and the digital logic that controls the behavior of speaker can be attached directly to the chip
of difficulty for
the chip. Data stored in non-volatile memory is without an external amplification stage. ISD25xx
each of these persistent, even when power is removed from the can be cascaded together for longer duration.
projects, turn to circuit. The operation of the chip is straightforward.
Fuzzball for The P/R pin is used to indicate whether the chip
the answers. ChipCorder should be recording (low) or playing back (high).
The scale is from The chip enable pin is used to start or stop the
1-4, with four The ChipCorder product line implements record/playback operation. When the chip enable
Fuzzballs being voice record and playback capabilities. Several pin is low, the chip starts the record or playback
the more difficult messages can be stored on the ChipCorder operation at the address specified by the address
or advanced integrated circuits. They can then be played back input pins (A0 to A9). In playback mode, the
on demand. This product line is broken down in chip outputs the audio until it reaches the end
projects. Just look
several families. We will look at the ISD25xx, of message (EOM) marker. When the EOM
for the Fuzzballs in
ISD400x, and ISD5x16 families. Each chip offers marker is encountered, a pulse is applied on the
the opening header.
unique recording duration, sound quality, audio EOM pin. In record mode, when the end of
You’ll also find features, and control mechanisms. memory is reached, the OVF output pin goes low.
information included The interface of this device to a microcontroller
in each article on ISD25xx requires 15 pins (five for control and 10 for
any special tools address selection). The ISD25xx offers a mode
or skills you’ll The ISD25xx can record between 60 to 120 where messages can be recorded and played
need to complete seconds of sound, depending on the model. All back sequentially without the need to specify
the project. models have the same amount of memory (480 K addresses explicitly, translating into significant
cells, segmented in 600 rows). The recording savings in the interfacing pin count. If address
Let the length varies according to the sampling rate used input pins A8 and A9 are set high, the chip can be
soldering begin! by each model. A device that records longer uses configured to work in one or more of the six oper-
ational modes. One of these operational modes is
the push-button control operational mode. When
this mode is selected, the chip can record a series
NUTS & VOLTS

of messages strictly using the chip enable (CE)

pin (Start/Pause function), the program/record
(P/R) pin, and the power down (PD) pin. The
Everything For Electronics

ISD25xx, running in push-button control opera-

tional mode, is a very straightforward way to
implement voice record/playback functionality.
The P/R pin indicates whether the chip is in record
MARCH 2004
42
 Dubuc.qxd 2/4/2004 10:55 PM Page 43

uc Adding Sound To Your Projects

or play mode. The CE pin is used to start

and pause the recording or playing. The
third pin, PD, is used to reset the chip.
There is no need to specify the address
in this mode. The chip always performs
the requested operation starting at the
current address. After reset, the chip
points to address zero. Other operational
modes can be used to alter the behavior
of the chip. For instance, the chip can be
told to only report the EOM marker when
the chip finishes playing the last mes-
sage, instead of at the end of each mes-
sage. When the looping mode is active,
the chip jumps back to address 0 when
it reaches the end of recorded messages,
allowing the recording to loop. The
ISD25xx comes in various packages: 28-
pin SOIC/PDIP and 32-pin TSOP.

ISD4003 and ISD4004

The ISD4004 family offers similar
voice record/playback functionality to
the ISD25xx family. However, as
opposed to chips of the ISD25xx family,
it can be controlled with a more sophisti-
cated interface and offers a considerably
larger memory size. The ISD4003 can
store up to 1,920 K cells to provide four
to eight minutes of recorded voice/
audio. Like the ISD25xx, as the record-
ing length increases, the sampling rate
decreases. The ISD4003-04M features
four minutes of 8 kHz sampled
audio/voice. The ISD4003-08M model
features eight minutes of 4 kHz sampled
audio/voice. Control of the chip is done
using an SPI interface using the MOSI,
MISO, and SCLK pins. Commands are
sent on this interface to power up, play,
record, perform message cueing, stop
current operation, and read the interrupt
status bits. Overall, the ISD4003 does
not provide more control options than
the ISD25xx, but the full range of capa-
bilities can be exercised through the SPI,
which may greatly simplify circuit and
firmware design for some types of
applications. ISD4003 chips do not
have a speaker output. External output
amplifier circuits must be connected to
the AUD OUT pin to drive a speaker. The
ISD4004 family is identical to the
ISD4003 family, except for the size of its
NVRAM. The NVRAM contains 3,840K
MARCH 2004 Circle #79 on the Reader Service Card.
43
Dubuc.qxd 2/4/2004 10:55 PM Page 44

Project Addi

cells and provides eight to 16 minutes of
voice recording at 4/8 kHz sampling.
The ISD4003 and ISD4004 families also
come in various packages: 28-pin SOIC,
PDIP, and TSOP.
ISD5116 and ISD5216
The ISD5116 and the ISD5216
families are the most advanced of
the ChipCorder chips presented in this
article. They implement voice record/
playback capabilities similar to other
ChipCorder chips, but offer a
richer feature set. The memory size of
the ISD5116/ISD5216 is the same as the
ISD4004 (segmented in 2,048 rows).
However, the sampling rate of these
models can be programmed through
software. If a 4 kHz sampling rate is
selected, the chip can record up to 16
minutes of speech. If 8 kHz sampling
is selected, the chip can record up to
eight minutes of speech. The ISD5116
and ISD5216 also have the ability to
store digital data. This is typically used
to store system configuration and other
application data, such as phone num-
bers. The data can be stored as 2,048
rows of 2,048 bytes. The ISD5116 uses
an I2 C two-wire interface for control
purposes. This interface is used to con-
trol the operation of the chip (play,
record, perform message cueing, and
stop), but is also used to configure the
chip and provide operations to store
and retrieve digital data. The ISD5116
and ISD5216, like the ISD25xx, contain
a speaker driver. They also offer an
AUX OUT output. Unlike other chips in
the ChipCorder family, ISD5116 and
ISD5216 chips implement adjustable
volume control and amplification gain.
These chips also provide a feed
through mode (voice captured by a
microphone can be configured to go
directly to ANA OUT). Voice can be
recorded on two simultaneous channels
(microphone and ANA IN), which
enables the recording of both sides
(duplex) of a conversation. The above
characteristics make these chips good
choices for more complex applications,
especially those targeted at cellular
phones or other portable devices. In
addition to the features of the ISD5116,
the ISD5216 contains an integrated
CODEC to record and play back digital
audio (PCM, Law, etc.), a capability that
is especially useful in telephony appli-
cations. The ISD5116 and ISD5216
families come in the following packages:
28-pin SOIC, PDIP, and TSOP.

Text-to-Speech
Integrated Circuits
Winbond also manufactures the
WTS701 text-to-speech integrated
NUTS & VOLTS

circuit. The WTS701 chip can produce

English or Chinese/Mandarin speech
from commands it receives on the SPI
Everything For Electronics

port. The commands contain the text

to synthesize in ASCII format. The
chip normalizes the ASCII text, con-
verts words into a sequence of
Circle #87 on the Reader Service Card. MARCH 2004
44
Dubuc.qxd 2/4/2004 10:55 PM Page 45

Adding Sound To Your Projects

Be an FCC
LICENSED
phonemes, and sends the appropriate audio stream to the
digital or analog output circuitry. The normalization process
consists of expanding abbreviations and numbers into pro-
nounceable words. The audio streams for the phonemes are
built into the chip's memory. The chip also contains a dic- ELECTRONIC TECHNICIAN
tionary that converts words into sequences of phonemes.
The chip provides commands to download different lan- Learn at home in your
guage, speaker, and normalization databases. The WTS701
spare time.
contains the same CODEC as the ISD5216, which makes it
possible to output the speech in digital form.
The WTS701 has a built-in speaker driver and an AUX OUT
output. The WTS701 chip is only available in 56-lead TSOP,
which makes it difficult to include in homegrown prototype
boards. However, for hobbyists, Devantech manufactures the
SP03 Text-to-Speech Synthesizer module which is based on the
Earn up to
WTS701 integrated circuit. These modules come with a piezo
$100 an hour
speaker. Up to 30 phrases can be stored on the module PIC
and more!
microcontroller or text can be sent directly on one of the three
No previous experience needed!
supported interfaces: RS232, I2 C, and parallel. These modules
can be purchased at www.acroname.com or www.batz.com You can earn more money
Applications if you get an FCC License!
Not satisfied with your present income?
Winbond ChipCorder and Text-to-Speech integrated cir-
Add prestige and earning power to your
cuits open up a wide range of possibilities for audio applica-
electronics career by getting your FCC
tions. The voice and playback functions can be used to add
sound to telephony products, toys, robots, and multimedia
Government License.
installations. The Winbond chips can be a very important part The Original Home-Study course pre-
of many different messaging applications: automated pares you for the “FCC Commercial
response systems, voice mail, automotive communications, Radiotelephone License” at home in your
and GPS/navigation systems. spare time.
For telephony applications, the voice record and play- This valuable license is your professional
back can also be used to record and play back DTMF “ticket” to thousands of exciting jobs in:
tones. There is tremendous opportunity for cellular phone Communications, Radio-TV, Microwave,
applications, including recording or downloading personalized Maritime, Radar, Avionics & more…you
ringers. Finally, the text-to-speech capabilities of the WTS701 can even start your own business!
can prove very useful for automated attendant applications.
You can find the ChipCorder and text-to-speech integrated cir- No need to quit your job or go to school.
cuit data sheets and various application briefs on the This proven “self-study” course is easy,
Winbond website. These documents are well-written and con- fast and low cost!
tain several application circuits that show how to connect the GUARANTEED TO PASS – You get your
chips to microcontrollers, input, and output devices. We have
seen that Winbond provides a good selection of integrated cir- FCC License or your money will be refunded.
cuits to handle voice messaging.
The ISD25xx family is well suited for the design of simple Call for FREE facts now!
push-button driven circuits. In such designs, there is no need
for a microcontroller to control the chip. For more sophisticat- (800) 932-4268 Ext. 220
ed applications, the ISD5116 is a powerful chip that provides www.LicenseTraining.com
many features. Its I2 C interface simplifies its control. If the
microcontroller used in the circuit does not support I2 C, then COMMAND PRODUCTIONS or mail
FCC LICENSE TRAINING - Dept. 220 coupon
the ISD4004, with its SPI port, provides a suitable alternative. P.O. Box 3000 • Sausalito, CA 94966 today
However, the ISD4004 requires external circuitry to drive Please rush FREE details immediately!
speakers and does not contain some of the audio features of Name
the other chips, such as automatic gain control. Finally, if
Address
there is a need to synthesize speech in your application, you
can use the WTS701 Text-to-Speech integrated circuit. NV City State Zip

Circle #92 on the Reader Service Card.

MARCH 2004 45
Fruitman.qxd 2/4/2004 10:41 PM Page 46

Project by Evert Fruitman

A Simple HDD Exerciser

Breathe New Life Into That Old Hard Drive

M
y son, Tim, asked Extremely strong
me, “Hey, Dad, magnets drive the
can you make heads rapidly back
something like I saw at and forth as the coil on
Comdex?" He had just the head assembly
come home from a com- responds to current
puter-oriented seminar and pulses sent to it. You
wanted to find out if we do want to see your
could make the heads on a program on the screen
defective hard drive rattle sometime today, don't
back and forth for Show you? I can remember
and Tell — silly question. His an early computer that
older sister, Joy, had asked took eight minutes to
about a louder metronome. load the program. A
His younger sister, Robbi, later upgrade cut the
had asked about a violin- time to two and a half
tuner. Joy now has a loud minutes. I would
metronome and Robbi has a tuner (Nuts & Volts, expect that same program — if it came from a modern
November 1999). So, with that for an excuse, I shook HDD — to load in a few seconds.
my head up and down and headed for the workroom. The strong magnets — probably some of the most
powerful you are likely to run into — make this possible.
HDD The electronics on the bottom of the hard drive tell the
head where to look on the disk and indicate when it has
While the CPU (central processing unit) serves as arrived there. This is a simplified version of what goes
the brains of a computer, the HDD (hard disk drive) on, but explains some of the things that make an oth-
stores the programs that the CPU processes. Some erwise dead drive into an interesting and somewhat
systems have more than one HDD. Some of the earliest educational instrument.
computers stored the programs on a flexible (floppy)
disk that the user inserted into a slot so the computer Where to Get a Used Drive
could access it. To change programs, change floppy
disks. If you go much farther back in time than that, I worked in an electronics group that serviced
you would call your computer an abacus. laboratory equipment and took care of the computers
in a large department at a state university. When one of
What's Inside the computer people would say that a drive needed
replacing because it could no longer reliably store and
The more modern systems will have a hard drive retrieve information or it had just plain crashed, I stood
that consists of two or more hard disks with magnetic there with my hand out.
pick-up heads on each side of the disks. The system You could probably find some older, obsolete, or
is assembled in a clean room that is almost beyond even dead units courtesy of friends or a service place.
NUTS & VOLTS

imagination (They really are - Editor Dan). Note the If at all possible, have them plug the unit in and see if it
mirror-like finish of the disk in the photo. If a particle will go through the initialization process. If not, politely
the thickness of a human hair gets into the assembly, it decline the offer unless you want the magnets from it.
Everything For Electronics

can trash the system. That is just one of the reasons
why they have the labels warning that breaking the seal
and taking off the cover will void the warranty — it
would probably ruin the unit.
46
Those are worth having — or you could make the seem-
ingly simple head rattler out of the unit.
You might try looking in a thrift store. Sometimes
they have ancient machines that work, but fall short of
MARCH 2004
 Fruitman.qxd 2/4/2004 10:42 PM Page 47

an HDD Exerciser

most modern needs. Although not generally practical for

computing needs, the machine will probably boot, which
would let you know that the hard drive works, giving you
the main ingredient for our educational toy.
Even after they otherwise die and can no longer
serve as a data storage media, the parts of the system
that make them "init" will still work most of the time. Of
the three or four units sitting on my bench now, only one
would not initialize. It may wind up shaking its heads
back and forth another day. Perhaps we can talk about
that in a later issue.

Init
When you first apply power to the drive — 5 volts
and 12 volts — the disks start spinning up, going for their
rated speed of anything from 3,600 to 7,200 RPM. The
faster speeds allow faster access to the data.
When the machine decides that the disks have
reached operating speed, the heads move around.
They have to find track zero, the reference track. In the
process of doing this self-test, they put on quite a
show.
The display that Tim saw at the show simply put
alternating pulses into the coil in the head, which drives
it back and forth. When I started playing with a drive, I Circle #83 on the Reader Service Card.
applied the normal 5 and 12 volts to the drive. That
caused it to go through the initialization process. Once
the heads found the reference position, the disks kept on
spinning and the heads just sat on track zero.

Show Time
Interrupting the power for a second or so caused
the show to restart. The heads would go to the center of
the drive, while the disks spun up again. When they
reached their speed, the heads moved to the middle of
the active area, rattled back and forth for a few seconds
— probably checking for mechanical defects — then
went to the track zero position. That seemed like more
fun than just watching the heads rattle from side to side.

Making it Automatic
You can make the drive put on this display by
feeding it 5 volts and 12 volts at a total of about one
amp. Then, periodically interrupt either power supply for
anything from less than a second to maybe 10 seconds.
The longer time allows the disks to spin most of the way
down or even come to a complete stop. You can decide
which one you like and adjust the values, as shown in
the schematic.

What You Need

Of course, you will need one slightly used or obso-
MARCH 2004 Circle #46 on the Reader Service Card.
47
Fruitman.qxd 2/4/2004 10:43 PM Page 48

Project

flip-flop, can give rela-

tively repeatable tim-
ing pulses. You do not
need precision pulses
for this application.
Feed the pulses, or
more accurately, feed
power to a transistor
switch most of the
time, interrupting it
once in a while, for as
long as you want, in
order to get the
desired effect.
In the schematic,
HDD Exerciser Schematic Q4 serves as an easily
interrupted power
lete hard drive, a couple of three-terminal regulators, and switch. When Q3 turns on, it connects the base bias
either a slightly modified PC board or a home-built resistor for Q4 to the minus battery lead. That turns on
control board, as well as a nominal 15 volt, one amp Q4 and applies the 12 volts to the drive. That starts the
power supply. self-test Show and Tell cycle. This gives you an idea of
what the heads do while seeking your data.
Circuit When Q1 and Q2 time out, Q2 turns on. This turns
off Q3 and Q4 for a time determined mostly by the
A free-running multivibrator, sometimes known as a values of R1, R3 and C1, C2. Use the values shown if

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NUTS & VOLTS

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tional f1.2 auto iris lens shown below. Seven Gain/Shutter modes are user with ext. trim pot.
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Everything For Electronics

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Circle #102 on the Reader Service Card. MARCH 2004

48
Fruitman.qxd 2/4/2004 10:43 PM Page 49

HDD Exerciser

you want the disks to spin down all the way in most
drives. Some of them take just a few seconds and some
of them take a good 10 seconds to stop. If you want the
heads to move as much as possible, make C2 smaller
so that it interrupts the power for just a short time.

Putting It Together
First, take apart the drive. This may require a
common Phillips screwdriver, an Allen wrench, a Torx
wrench, or all of them. Look for fasteners hidden under
the warning labels. Once you get the screws out, the
cover usually lifts off with the aid of a thin blade slipped
under it. Set it and a couple of the screws aside. You
can use them to hold the cover to the side, as shown in
the photo.
Feel free to use a different means of supporting
the board, even putting it in a small box along with the
regulators. Keep in mind that the regulators do get
warm and must be heatsinked. As you can see, I just
put them on the old cover with screws long enough to
hold the board. Then, I put the board on its own mount-
ing stud: a 4-40 machine screw with three nuts on it.
One holds the screw to the cover, the other two hold the
board away from the cover.
Power comes in from the cable that is shown on the Circle #90 on the Reader Service Card.
left side of the photo. Since the wall-mounted power
module had a cable with a battery clip on it, a used
battery clip taken from a dead 9 V battery made a con-
Turn Your Multimedia PC into a Powerful
venient connector. This also makes it convenient to use Real-Time Audio Spectrum Analyzer
the power module for other projects when the hard drive
gets tired of exercising. Features
• 20 kHz real-time bandwith
• Fast 32 bit executable
The Board • Dual channel analysis
• High Resolution FFT
• Octave Analysis
Once upon a time, I made a blinking light for Tim's • THD, THD+N, SNR
bike. He wanted two large LEDs, blinking alternately measurements
• Signal Generation
and placed at the focal points of a trailer-type of side
• Triggering, Decimation
light. I wrote about that and other LED projects (Nuts & • Transfer Functions, Coherence
Volts, October 1999). Fred, from Far Circuits, made the • Time Series, Spectrum Phase,
and 3-D Surface plots
final board, which you see in the photo. I changed a few • Real-Time Recording and
of the values and added the output transistor, Q4. If you Post-Processing modes

contact Fred for the board, ask for the bike light board Applications

from 8/14/99. I had one extra board left over when • Distortion Analysis
• Frequency Response Testing
Priced from $299
starting on this project. This saved a lot of time and • Vibration Measurements
(U.S. sales only – not for export/resale)
gave it a nicer appearance. • Acoustic Research

The bike light board did almost everything needed System Requirements

here. Just leave off one of the original transistors, the • 486 CPU or greater DOWNLOAD FREE 30 DAY
• 8 MB RAM minimum TRIAL!
LEDs, add a resistor, a power transistor, and wire it as in • Win. 95, NT, or Win. 3.1 + Win.32s
www.spectraplus.com
the schematic. • Mouse and Math coprocessor
• 16 bit sound card
The power transistor approaches saturation, as it
has only 50-75 mV, 0.05-0.075 volts across it when
delivering the 12 volts to the drive. It never gets warm
to the touch, so it does not need a heatsink — which is FFT Spectral Analysis System
a subsidiary of Sound Technology, Inc.
why it is mounted directly on the board. You will want
Sales: (360) 697-3472 Fax: (360) 697-7717 e-mail: pioneer@telebyte.com
the plug that fits the power socket on the disk drive.
MARCH 2004 Circle #99 on the Reader Service Card.
49
Fruitman.qxd 2/5/2004 2:47 PM Page 50

Project HDD Exerciser

Again, you can buy one or find Power Connections 5 volt supply connected to the plug.
one left over from a defunct power Then, connect the output of the 12
supply or inside a dead computer. The schematic shows the power volt regulator to the board and the
I suppose that you could still connections. The red line goes to output from Q4 to the yellow wire.
use one of the original LEDs for the 5 volt supply and the yellow line You can check the operation of
added effect, as it would show when goes to the 12 volt supply. The the driver board before plugging it
the power to that part of the circuit black lines go to the minus — or the back into the hard drive. You may
turns on and off. return — from the power supplies. want to tack in 2 to 10 microfarad
Some of the capacitors for C1 and C2.
Parts List drives show the That could save a lot of waiting
voltages on the time. With the values shown,
R1 47K, 1/4 W
bottom of the the output stage stays on or off
R2, R4 4.7K
control board. If for about 10 seconds. With 10
R3 180K they do, that microfarad caps, the output stage
R5 3.9K will let you should cycle about once per sec-
R6 330Ω confirm your ond. You can check that with a 12
connections. volt pilot light in place of the drive
C1 100 µF 16 V (vary the value for effect) across the yellow and the black
C2 100 µF 16 V Winding wires. An analog meter would fol-
C3 1000 µF 16 V It Up low those changes. A digital meter
C4, C5 0.1 µF 16 V would show changes. Any of those
After you indications will tell you that the
mount the oscillator, Q1 and Q2, is turning Q3
Q1-Q3 2N3904, 2N2222 small-signal, NPN transistor regulators, you and Q4 on and off.
Q4 TIP32 or similar plastic, PNP power transistor. may want to tie
them to Trouble?
LM7812 three-terminal, 12 volt regulator the connector
LM7805 three-terminal, 5 volt regulator and plug that into If, for some reason, that does
Perf board or PC board — or Bike Light from 8/14/99 the drive to make not check out, look for defective or
FAR Circuits website catalog www.farcircuits.net sure that it does incorrectly wired transistors or
(847) 836-9148 indeed play. possibly a bad capacitor — C1, C2.
When you finish Do include the two 0.1 microfarad
15 to 20 volt, 1 amp unregulated DC power supply
playing, leave the caps across the output of the
regulators or you could have some
unpredictable events. Include C3 in
that category once you connect this
electronic switch to the hard drive,
since many of the wall-mounted
power modules have less than ade-
quate filtering built into them. A lot
of times, they depend upon the
filters built into the equipment that
they power.

Start Your Motor

When the power supplies
(+5 and +12) and the switches
check out, connect the plug to the
NUTS & VOLTS

hard drive, at which point you can

send it to school for Show and Tell.
Otherwise, you can just sit back,
Everything For Electronics

relax, and enjoy watching your hard

drive while it exercises. (For my
money, it beats watching daytime
TV.) NV
MARCH 2004
50
Florian.qxd 2/4/2004 11:12 PM Page 51

by Paul Florian Project

A Simple One-MHz
Frequency Counter
With an Introduction to Signal Conditioning

I
f you work with digital or analog oscillators, at some that V-out decreases, until it just equals zero. Now,
point you will want to double-check their operating measure VGS (it will be less than zero). As mentioned
frequency. Analog oscilloscopes will only get you earlier, the frequency counter design requires a VGS (off)
within a half-order of magnitude or so; a good frequency between -1.5 V and -3.5 V. Pick an MPF102 in this range clos-
counter will take you the rest of the way. est to -2.5 V. You may have to test a handful of FETs to find
In this article, I will show you how to build a simple one in the appropriate range. If you don’t have any luck with
frequency counter, like the one shown schematically in your batch of MPF102s, you may want to try some 2N4416
Figures 1A and 1B. It has a response range from 1 Hz to 1 FETs. The 2N4416 has a maximum VGS (off) of -6 V.
MHz, a resolution of 1 Hz, and a typical sensitivity of ±250
mV or less. The maximum input voltage is 30 VAC (using Power Supplies
a 10X scope probe). This provides an accuracy of ±30
PPM at ±1Hz, with a supply voltage of 12 V @ 200 mA. The Five volts are supplied to the circuit through regulator
circuit is composed of an input amplifier, power supplies, U6. Diode D3 provides reverse polarity protection of the
reference clock, and eight-digit
counter. I will explain the operation
of each one in the following sections. Figure 1A. The input stage and
power supply.
Input Amplifier
Examine Figure 1A, paying
particular attention to the input
stage. Diodes D1 and D2 clamp the
input voltage of the FET to ±700 mV
when high input voltages are
applied. This stage is powered by 9.1
V to allow for maximum voltage
swing at the collector of Q2 without
clipping. This stage has a gain of
between four and eight, depending
on the input frequency. Note that, in
order to work properly, the VGS (off)
voltage of FET Q1 must be between
-1.5 V and -3.5 V. The data sheet for
the MPF102 specifies a maximum
VGS (off) of -8 V. Typical values of
VGS (off) are around -2 V.
In order to guarantee the proper
operation of the amplifier, construct
the test circuit given in Figure 2 to
determine the VGS (off) of any given
FET. Adjust R1 so that V-out is
approximately 2 VDC. Turn R1 so
MARCH 2004 51
Florian.qxd 2/4/2004 11:12 PM Page 52

Project

Figure 1B. The digital

Clock
counting and display stages. The reference
clock is composed
of Y1 and U4. U4 is
a 24-stage frequen-
cy divider. For this
design, the output
of the counter
needs to have a
period of two sec-
onds. The frequen-
cy at the output of
U4, pin 15, is
1/8388608 multi-
plied by the clock
frequency. Crystal
Y1 supplies a sta-
ble 4.194304 MHz
signal. The product
of both therefore
gives an output fre-
quency of 0.5 Hz
(equivalent to a two
second period) at
U4, pin 5.
input voltage. C6 and C7 are bypass capacitors (shorting The crystal oscillator circuit configuration with U4 is
AC signals on the power supply to ground). C6 effective- called a Pierce oscillator (also known as a parallel resonant
ly shorts low frequencies to ground, but its ESR (effective crystal oscillator). R11 is connected across an inverter
series resistance) is too high for higher frequencies. C7 is internal to U4. This causes the inverter to operate in its lin-
more capable at shorting higher frequencies to ground. ear region and amplify the natural resonance of Y1.
R10, in series with the 9.1 V Zener diode D4, provides a
stable 9.1 V supply for the input stage. The maximum Counter
current drawn by this stage is around 8 mA. To determine
R10, divide the voltage drop across R10 by double the The 74HC926 parts (U2 and U3) are four-digit
current and solve for the resistor. In our example, the counters, with reset and latch. The frequency clock is
math equation is: connected to U3, and the carry of U3 is connected to the
R = (12 V - 9.1 V)/(.016 A) = 180Ω clock input of U2. The latch and reset pins of U2 and U3 are
tied together. This
Figure 2. The VGS test circuit Figure 3. The prototype was built in a project box. forms an eight digit
counter. U1 is a
Darlington transistor
array, which drives
the common cath-
odes of DISP1 and
DISP2. Note that
there are only seven
Darlingtons in U1.
This is all that is
NUTS & VOLTS

needed because the

frequency counter’s
maximum count is 1
Everything For Electronics

MHz. The digit in the

10 MHz place has no
driver transistor and
is not illuminated.
MARCH 2004
52
Florian.qxd 2/5/2004 3:03 PM Page 53

A One-MHz Frequency Counter

Since the period of the clock at U4, pin 15, is two

seconds, the signal is high for one second and low for one
second. The clock input of U3 is the NAND (U5A) of the
front end frequency output and U4, pin 15. When U4, pin
15, is high for one second, the output of the NAND (U5A)
provides active low pulses for each pulse of the input
frequency. The clock input of U3 is active low. Because the
input frequency is NANDed with a one second pulse, the
frequency is simply the number of clock pulses that occur in
that one second duration.
The output of the front end amplifier is capacitively
coupled through C8 to the input of U5, pin1. This pin has
a DC bias in the center of its hysteresis range. When the
AC voltage at this pin exceeds the threshold voltages —
typically spaced 1.5 V apart — the output is a square wave.
U5B and U5C are used as inverters, thereby eliminating
the need for another IC. D4 clamps the input voltage of
U5B to +5 V when the input to capacitor C10 makes a low
to high transition. D5 protects the input of U5C in a similar
way. Figure 4. Wirewrap construction is sufficient for the counter.
As mentioned earlier, internal to each 74HC926 is a
four digit decimal counter connected to a latch. When the the current counter value. When the output of U5, pin 6,
output of U4, pin 15, goes low, a short high pulse appears goes low, the output of U5C is also a short high pulse. This
at the output of U5B, pin 6. This clocks the latch input for pulse resets the counter. The counter will count the new
the eight digit counter, which loads the display latch with frequency the next time U4, pin 15, goes high.

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MARCH 2004 Circle #148 on the Reader Service Card.
53
Florian.qxd 2/4/2004 11:13 PM Page 54

Project

U5A may falsely trigger,

Parts List resulting in incorrect fre-
Resistors (all 5%, 1/4 W) quency readings. To avoid
C8, C9 22 pF 5% silver mica
R1 100K
R2, R8 1M
incorrect results, use a
Semiconductors 10X scope probe when
R3, R4, R7 1K
D1, D2, D5, D6 1N4148
R5 100Ω
D3 1N4002
taking measurements
R6, R13, R14 10K above 4 V and a 1X probe
D4 1N4739A
R9 820K when measuring ampli-
Q1 MPF102
R10 180Ω
Q2 2N3906 tudes less than 4 V.
R11 10M
U1 ULN2003
R12 200Ω
U2, U3 74C926
RP1, RP2 7 X 100Ω DIP
network
U4 CD4521 Construction
U5 74HC132
U6 LM7805 When I assembled
DISP1, DISP2 MSQ6441C the unit, I used a PCB for
Capacitors
C1 1 µF 63 V the input stage and power
Miscellaneous
C2 47 pF supply. The rest of the cir-
Y1 4.194304 MHz crystal
C3 47 nF
S1 SPST switch cuit was wire-wrapped.
C4 1 µF 50 V
J1 BNC female jack The size of the circuit
C5, C7, C10, C11 100 nF 50 V
J2 3.5 mm jack
C6 10 µF 50 V board is 4.5” X 5.5” and is
mounted in a RadioShack
If the input to the front end of the frequency counter is project case (part number 270-1809). If you need it to be
left floating (no input signal), the counter may display portable, there is still enough room inside for a 12 volt
essentially random frequencies. It is important to remem- battery holder (eight AA cells).
ber that, when measuring square waves with amplitudes Have fun building and operating the 1 MHz frequency
greater than approximately 4 V, the threshold detector counter. NV
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics

MARCH 2004
54
Full Page.qxd 2/3/2004 10:21 PM Page 55

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MARCH 2004 Circle #75 on the Reader Service Card.

55
Axelson.qxd 2/5/2004 12:05 PM Page 56

Control Your Devices From A Web Page

O f all of the millions of pages on the web, most are

hosted by large servers or, at minimum, desktop PCs,
but these aren't the only computers that can function as
web servers. Even very small devices can serve web pages
on request, including pages that display real-time informa-
tion and respond to user input. The pages can either be avail-
able within a local network or an Internet connection can be
added to make the pages available to anyone on the Internet.
The Device Controller described in this article is a small
circuit board that controls external circuits and also functions
as a web server. Users can access a web page to monitor and
control the Device Controller's circuits. The Device Controller
is based on a TINI module, which contains a CPU (central pro-
cessing unit), networking support, and a Java runtime envi-
ronment which enables the TINI to run Java programs. The
TINI was developed by Dallas Semiconductor, a subsidiary of
Maxim Integrated Products. The Device Controller's web page
displays a virtual control panel
(Figure 1). From this page, users FIGURE 1. The Device Controller's web page
can click buttons to turn two LEDs is a virtual control panel that enables users to
on and off. After clicking a button, toggle LEDs on the TINI.
the browser's web page updates to
match the states of the LEDs.
In a similar way, you can pro-
gram a TINI to monitor and con-
trol other circuits or processes,
use a web page to enable users’
data requests from the TINI, and
control the TINI's circuits.
About the TINI
Two options for the TINI
module are the DSTINIm400 ($67.00) from Dallas
Semiconductor (Figure 2) and the TStik ($99.00) from
Systronix (Figure 3). The CPU in both boards is a Dallas
Semiconductor DS80C400 Network Microcontroller. Each
module plugs into an evaluation board that contains compo-
nents and connectors for a power supply, RS-232 serial port,
and Ethernet. The TStik has an on-board Ethernet transceiv-
er, while the DSTINIm400's Ethernet transceiver is on the
evaluation board (DSTINIs400). Creating the Device
Controller software, compiling it, and deploying it to the TINI
requires a variety of software tools. All are free downloads.
The TINI Software Developers Kit (SDK), available
from Dallas Semiconductor, includes the TINIOS
operating system and the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that
executes Java programs in the TINI. Dallas
Semiconductor also provides the JavaKit utility for
configuring the TINI over its RS-232 serial port.
To compile Java programs
for a TINI, you can use just about
any Java compiler and Java devel-
opment system, including the com-
piler in the free Java Development
Kit (JDK) from Sun Microsystems.
I use Borland's JBuilder environ-
ment, which includes a compiler
and graphical interface for develop-
ing. A free Personal Edition is
available. The Ant build tool and
the TINI-specific add-on, TiniAnt,
are useful for compiling and
deploying code to the TINI.
A Java application, called a
servlet engine, enables the TINI to

56
 Axelson.qxd 2/5/2004 12:05 PM Page 57
ge by Jan Axelson
run Java programs, called servlets, which can serve web
pages that contain real-time information and respond to
mouse clicks and other user input. The servlet engine I
used for the Device Controller is Shawn Silverman's
Tynamo web server, which is free for personal use.
My website at www.Lvr.com contains the complete
DeviceController servlet code and instructions for running
it. For loading files into the TINI and testing the web
server on a network, you'll need a PC with an RS-232
serial port and an Ethernet network port.
Why use Java? The Java language is designed from
the ground up for use in networking applications and the
support built into the TINI's software greatly simplifies
network programming. If you're not an experienced Java
programmer, an introductory text will get you started. The
TINI supports an older, simpler, but still very capable, JDK
distribution (1.1.8). If you prefer to program in C instead of
Java, my website also has a Device Controller project writ-
FIGURE 2. Dallas Semiconductor's DSTINIm400
module contains a DS80C400 Network
Microcontroller and can run Java programs.
FIGURE 3. Systronix's TStik also contains a DS80C400 Network
Microcontroller and uses the popular 72-contact SIMM connector.
Use Any Web Browser to Monitor and Control Your Devices
ten in C for Rabbit Semiconductor's RabbitCore modules.
The Web Page
Listing 1 is the HTML source code of the page a
browser might receive on requesting the Device
Controller's web page. The text between angle brackets
(<>) contains HTML code that tells the web browser how
to display the text and images on the page.
The page includes four images. Ledon.gif and ledoff.gif
are images of lit and unlit LEDs. The images reflect the
states of the Device Controller's LEDs when the page was
requested. The other two images are identical switches, or
buttons (button.gif), which users click to toggle the LEDs.
When a user clicks a button's image, the browser's
computer uses the HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) to
send a GET request over the network to the Device
Controller. If the user clicks the first LED's button, the
request contains the text /servlet/DeviceController?button1.
The /servlet/DeviceController portion of the request tells the
Device Controller to run the DeviceController servlet. The
text following the question mark tells the Device Controller
57
Axelson.qxd 2/5/2004 12:06 PM Page 58

Control Your Devices From A Web Page

LISTING 1. The HTML code for Figure 1's web page includes Listing 2. continued ...
links to images that match the states of the LEDs.
led1On = toggle(led1);
<html> } else {
<head>
<title>Device Controller </title> // Don't toggle the LED.
</head> // Read the LED's state and set led1On true if the state is 0
// (on) and false if the state is 1 (off).
<body> led1On = (led1.readLatch() == 0);
<h1> Device Controller Demo</h1> }
<table> boolean led2On;
<tr> if ("button2".equals(query)) {
<td><img src ="ledon.gif" ></td> System.out.println("Button 2 was clicked");
<td><img src ="ledoff.gif" ></td>
</tr> // Toggle the LED.
// A logic low turns the LED on.
<tr> led2On = toggle(led2);
<td> } else {
<a href="/servlet/DeviceController?button1">
<img src="button.gif"></a> // Don't toggle the LED.
</td> // Read the LED's state and set LED2 On true if the state is 0
<td> // (on) and false if the state is 1 (off).
<a href="/servlet/DeviceController?button2"> led2On = (led2.readLatch() == 0);
<img src="button.gif" ></a> }
</td>
</tr> // Set the images and text to match the LEDs' current states
// If led1State (led2State) is true, LED1 (LED2) is off.
</table> // If led2State (led2State) is false, LED1 (LED2) is on.
String led1Image;
<p>LED 1 is on.</p> String led1State;
<p>LED 2 is off.</p> if (led1On) {
<p>Click a button to turn an LED on or off.</p> led1Image= "/ledon.gif";
<p>The web page will update to show the current states of the LEDs.</p> led1State = "on";
}
</body> else {
led1Image = "/ledoff.gif";
</html> led1State = "off";
}
LISTING 2. The servlet's doGet() method services HTTP
requests for the web page. String led2Image;
String led2State;
/** if (led2On) {
* Responds to HTTP GET requests. led2Image= "/ledon.gif";
* led2State = "on";
* @param request the HTTPServletRequest object }
* @param response the HttpServletResponse object else {
* led2Image = "/ledoff.gif";
* @throws ServletException led2State = "off";
* @throws IOException }
*/
public void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse // Return the web page to the client.
response) SendWebPage (response, led1Image, led2Image,
throws ServletException, IOException led1State, led2State);
{
//The query string sent by the client tells which button } //end doGet
// was clicked on the web page.
NUTS & VOLTS

String query = request.getQueryString();

which button the user clicked (button1 or button2).
// Read the current state of the LEDs (0=on, 1=off).
// and toggle the LED named in the query string.
boolean led1On;
Serving the Web Page
Everything For Electronics

if ("button1".equals(query)) {
System.out.println("Button 1 was clicked"); On receiving a request to run the DeviceController
servlet, the TINI executes the doGet() method found in
// Toggle the LED.
Listing 2. One of the parameters passed to the method is
MARCH 2004
58
Axelson.qxd 2/5/2004 12:06 PM Page 59

an HttpServletRequest object that contains information LISTING 3. The servlet's toggle() method toggles the LED
about the request. If the user has clicked a button, the at the named port bit.
object's getQueryString() method contains either "but-
ton1" or "button2" to indicate which button was clicked. /**
* Toggles the specified bitPort bit and returns the new state.
If the query string contains button1 or button2, a call *
to the toggle() method in Listing 3 toggles the state of the * @param bitPort a bit that controls an LED.
corresponding LED. Port bits on the DS80C400 control the */
LEDs. Led1 is controlled by Port 5, bit 4, and led2 is private static boolean toggle(BitPort bitPort) {
controlled by Port 5, bit 5. Figure 4 shows the circuits. if (bitPort.readLatch() == 0) {
On the DSTINIs400 board, the bits are accessible from
header J21. On the TStik, the bits are contacts 29 and 30 // If it's 0, set the bit to turn the LED off and return false.
bitPort.set();
on the SIMM connector. I chose these bits, in part, because return false;
they're easily accessible. The bits also function as part of } else {
the SPI interface, which isn't available if you use the bits to
// If it's 1, clear the bit to turn the LED on and return true.
control the LEDs. You can program the TINI to control any bitPort.clear();
other I/O bits or peripherals you wish. return true;
In the servlet code, led1 and led2 are BitPort objects in }
} // end toggle
the TINI-specific class com.dalsemi.system.BitPort. The
class's readLatch() method returns the last value written to
a bit. The set() method sets a bit's value to 1 and the FIGURE 4. A DSTINIm400 or TStik can control these LEDs.
clear() method sets a bit's value to 0.
In Listing 2, after toggling the requested LED, the TINI
sets the values of four variables that display the states
of the LEDs as images and text on the web page. The
variables led1Image and led2Image each contain a file
name ("ledon.gif" or "ledoff.gif"), depending on the state of
the corresponding LED. In a similar way, the led1State and
led2State variables each contain the text "on" or "off."
A call to the application's SendWebPage() method
sends a web page that displays images and text that match
the states of the LEDs on the TINI. A series of out.print
statements writes the web page's contents to the
ServletOutputStream object out. The browser that requested
to run the servlet receives the web page in an HTTP response.
This statement in the SendWebPage() method sends
the contents of the page's <head> section, which contains Resources
the page's title:
out.print("<head><title>DeviceController</title> Ant Sun
</head>" (Ant build tool) (Java Development Kit)
www.jakarta.apache.org www.java.sun.com
In a similar way, out.print statements send the rest of Borland Systronix
the HTML code that makes up the web page. (JBuilder Java environment and (TStik module)
In sending the page, the servlet inserts the file names compiler) www.systronix.com
and text that match the states of the LEDs. This statement www.borland.com
places the contents of the led2Image variable (either TiniAnt
Dallas Semiconductor (TINI add-on for Ant)
"ledon.gif" or "ledoff.gif") on the web page: (DSTINIm400 module) tiniant.sourceforge.net
out.print(led2Image); www.dalsemi.com
Tynamo
This statement places the contents of the led1State Rabbit Semiconductor (TINI web server and servlet
variable (either "on" or "off") on the web page: (RabbitCore modules) engine)
www.rabbitsemiconductor. www.tynamo.com
com
out.print (led1State);
MARCH 2004 59
Axelson.qxd 2/5/2004 12:06 PM Page 60
Control Your Devices From A Web Page
Running the Web Server
Running the servlet requires a series of steps to build
the application webserver.tini, deploy webserver.tini and
related files to the TINI module, and run the application.
The webserver.tini file contains the code for both the
Tynamo web server and the DeviceController servlet.
These are the steps to follow:
1. Download the needed files. The DeviceController
files are in devicecontroller.zip, available from
www.Lvr.com The archive file contains the HTML file
Making the Device Controller
Available on the Internet
To access the Device Controller's web page from the Internet,
you need to have an Internet account that permits hosting a server
and network-security settings that enable the TINI to receive
connection requests on port 80 (the default port for HTTP) or
another port you specify.
Hosting a server may require a business account for Internet
access. Accounts offered to home users typically forbid hosting
servers because a server may draw more traffic than the provider
can support at home-user prices. Some providers block incoming
requests to open connections to port 80.
If the TINI accesses the Internet via a dial-up connection,
you will, of course, need a phone line that's available to the TINI
whenever you want the Device Controller to be on line.
It is wise to use a firewall to protect your computers that access
the Internet.A firewall may be software running on a PC in the local
network or a piece of dedicated hardware. If your TINI is behind a
firewall, you'll need to configure the firewall to allow the TINI to
receive incoming HTTP requests. One way to achieve this is to set
up the firewall so that all requests to open a connection to Port 80
are routed to the TINI.
To access the TINI from the Internet, you need to know its
public IP address. If you use a firewall with Network Address
Translation (NAT), the firewall will use a single public IP address for
all Internet communications, converting between the public and local
IP addresses as needed.The firewall should have a configuration page
that displays its public IP address.
From a browser, you access the Device Controller the same way
you would in a local network, except that you must use a public IP
address. If the address is 192.0.2.3, you would enter this in the
browser's address box:
http://192.0.2.3/servlet/DeviceController
NUTS & VOLTS
If the TINI's IP address has an assigned domain name, you can
also access the Device Controller using the domain name:
Everything For Electronics
www.example.com/servlet/DeviceController
In any case, it's best to check out the Device Controller on a
local network before attempting to access it from the Internet.
60
DeviceController_readme.htm, which has links to the
other files required to build and deploy the Device
Controller. Download these as well.
2. Building and deploying webserver.tini uses
several configuration files. These are included in
devicecontroller.zip. You must edit two of these files with
information specific to your system.
The build.properties file contains the locations of the
TINI SDK and the DeviceController servlet. Edit these
lines to match the locations on your development PC:
# The location of the TINI SDK:
tini.path=/tini1.11
# The location of the servlet (DeviceController.java):
src.paths=/myservlets
Use forward slashes (/) as separators in the paths, even
under Windows.
The deploy.properties file contains information about the
TINI. Edit these lines to match the information for your
TINI:
• The TINI's IP address:
deploy.server=192.168.1.9
• The TINI's user ID and password:
deploy.userid=root
deploy.password-tini
You can view and set the TINI's IP (Internet protocol)
address using the TINI's ipconfig command. In JavaKit,
type ipconfig to view the current settings and type
ipconfig help to view the options you can set.
3. To build webserver.tini, run the Ant build tool by
opening a command-prompt window on your development
PC, changing to the directory where you stored the
Tynamo download, and entering ant on the command line.
The Ant tool uses the information in the configuration files
to find out what to build and where to find the files.
4. Copy the files ledon.gif, ledoff.gif, and button.gif to
the http-root directory in Tynamo's home directory.
5. To deploy the web server to the TINI, connect the
TINI to your development PC via Ethernet. For a direct
connection, attach a crossover cable directly from the TINI's
Ethernet (RJ-45) connector to the PC's Ethernet connector.
If your PC connects to an Ethernet repeater hub or switch,
attach a straight-across cable between the TINI and an
available port on the repeater hub or switch. At a command
prompt on the development PC, type ant deploy. This
causes the web server's files to transfer to the TINI via the
File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
MARCH 2004
Axelson.qxd 2/5/2004 12:06 PM Page 61

6. To run the web server in Windows' Hyperterminal or
a similar application, create a Telnet connection with these
settings:
Host Address = the TINI's IP address
Port = 23
Connect = TCP/IP
Click Call to connect to the TINI and
run the web server by entering this
text in the Telnet window:
other monitoring and control tasks and serve web pages
which enable users to view and control the TINI's activities.
My website (www.Lvr.com) has links to more
documentation about the TINI and Tynamo web server
and how to use them, as well as the complete source code
for the Device Controller. NV

source web/bin/WebServer

When the server is running, the

Telnet Window will display this text:

HttpServer: Server started.

The TINI is now ready to run the

DeviceController servlet.

Accessing the Web

Server
On a computer in the same local
network as the TINI, in the address
text box of a web browser, enter
http://, followed by the TINI's IP
address, /servlet/, and the servlet's
name. For example, if the TINI's IP
address is 192.168.1.9, enter this:

http://192.168.1.9/servlet/Device
Controller

You should then see the Device

Controller's web page with images
and text that match the states of the
LEDs on the TINI module. Click a
button and the corresponding LED
on the TINI will toggle and the
browser will update with a new web
page that reflects the change.
This basic application can serve
as a template for TINIs that perform

Jan Axelson is the author of Embedded

Ethernet and Internet Complete, USB
Complete, and other books about
computer interfacing. For more about
computer interfacing via Ethernet and
other ports, visit Jan's website at
www.Lvr.com

MARCH 2004 61
NearSpace.qxd 2/4/2004 11:48 PM Page 62
How Some Hobbyists are Getting
Around the Difficulties Associated with
Amateur Space Exploration
by L. Paul Verhage
L ast month, we covered how hobbyists are getting
around the high costs associated with spacecraft con-
struction and launches. You learned a little about the
structure of our atmosphere, the location of near space,
and the conditions found there. Last month's article
closed with a brief introduction to the near spacecraft. In
that introduction, the parts of the stack were explained,
along with their functions. This month's article discusses
some of the benefits gained through beginning your own
program and explains how you can build an inexpensive
near spacecraft and use it in an amateur science project.
Talk about an awesome science fair project!
Some of the Benefits of the
Amateur Near Space Program
There are several benefits to creating your own
amateur near space program. The first benefit is in the
variety of fantastic experiments you can perform. There
is also the program management experience you will gain
and the inspiration that amateur near space can give.
Finally, I see the sense of adventure that comes with each
NUTS & VOLTS
near space mission as an asset.
Amateur Science Experiments
Everything For Electronics
That Will Knock Your Socks Off
I have flown many experiments over my seven years
and 44 flights in the hobby. Some of my best experiments
62
are described in more detail below. The near space
experiments I have flown so far have included recording
images, measuring the cosmic ray flux, and making
meteorological measurements in the stratosphere. I have
also tested new designs and technologies and have let
people communicate with one another through near
space-based repeaters. Many of these experiments are
also being flown by the active near space programs,
which were listed at the end of last month’s article.
Imaging With Cameras and
Camcorders
Some of the most interesting results of a near space
mission are in the images returned. Near space missions
can record images of sunrise from deep within the strato-
sphere, the horizon during the day at various altitudes, or
of the ground below. Each shows a unique perspective on
our planet and its atmosphere.
My video recording of dawn in near space shows an
orange band of light hugging the eastern horizon that is
topped by a narrow glow of electric blue. The rest of the
sky remains pitch black. Beneath the light of dawn, the
lights of Kansas City, which were over 100 miles away at
the time, were bright. Instead of the sky turning orange at
dawn, my videotape shows the ground turning orange.
Finally, the Earth’s shadow, which is noticeable from the
ground, is much more distinct in near space.
Photographs of the horizon during the day show a
MARCH 2004
NearSpace.qxd 2/4/2004 11:49 PM Page 63

Near Space

blue earth, curved horizon, and black space above. In my

photographs, clouds over 100 miles away are visible. Cities
and other human artifacts disappear; you would never
guess that the earth was inhabited by humans from these
photographs. Photographs of the horizon look like they
were taken from orbit, so much so in fact, that twice now,
photo lab technicians have asked me if I was an astronaut.
Depending on the altitude, photographs taken of the
ground can span over 15 miles. Mountains take on a new
perspective from near space. They flatten, so only their
shadows and creeks indicate their existence. Missions over
the years can record the seasonal changes in rivers and
creeks. Entire towns and small cities are recorded in a
single photograph, along with their roads, railroads, and
rivers. You can see everyone's house from near space. The
near spacecraft makes the ultimate amateur spysat!
Videotape taken during ascent records the gradual
darkening of the sky and the increasing inability of the air An example of a reusable lunch bag-based airframe. Mark
to carry sounds. Specifically, high pitched tones drop out Conner’s (N9XTN) module is seen being suspended about
10 feet below my module, which provides the tracking
early, while lower pitched tones hang in there longer. Meteor services for this flight.Tens of thousands of feet separate
observations are possible during night launches, if the mod- the clouds from this near spacecraft.
ule carries a low lux camcorder or image intensifier. In near
space, even a full moon can't create the glare that prevents of two for every 18,000-foot increase in altitude. Aside
the observation of faint meteors from Earth. from just measuring the current air temperature, a tem-
perature sensor can also permit you to determine the
Cosmic Ray Studies with Geiger lapse rate (the rate at which the air temperature changes
Counters with increasing altitude) and the stability of the tropo-
sphere. It also lets you determine the altitude of the
One of my favorite experiments is making cosmic ray tropopause and how its altitude and temperature change
measurements in near space. Aware Electronics manufac- over the course of the year. A relative humidity sensor will
tures an inexpensive, lightweight Geiger counter designed show you how rapidly the atmosphere dries as altitude
for laptop use. The RM-60 Geiger counter is about the size increases.
of a deck of playing cards and takes its power from a PC Don't forget the onboard GPS receiver, as it, too, is a
serial port. Its power and data cables are easily interfaced part of the weather station. I use data from a GPS receiver
to flight computers. to determine the direction and speed of the wind at various
The minimal weight, volume, and power requirements altitudes. With this data, I can measure the speed and
of the RM-60 make it the ideal Geiger counter for cosmic altitude of the jet stream for myself. On near space mis-
ray studies. The detection of a cosmic ray is signified with sions, hobbyists make the same measurements that the
a short duration, five-volt pulse. Collecting cosmic ray data National Weather Service does with its 100 daily
entails recording the current altitude from the GPS receiv- radiosonde launches.
er, then the number of pulses over a specific time span.
Most of the cosmic rays detected on the ground are The Earth, photographed from an altitude of 86,000 feet.
Sensors on this mission indicated that the air temperature
secondary and not the original — or primary — cosmic rays was nine degrees Fahrenheit at the time.The distance to the
from outer space. This is because primary rays create horizon was calculated to be 360 miles. Beautiful clouds of
showers of secondary rays when they slam into nitrogen fair weather cumulus, marching in rows, fill the scene.
and oxygen molecules high in the atmosphere. However,
near space is high enough that Geiger counters will begin
detecting primary rays. Since the RM-60, combined with
the flight computer, can detect a single cosmic ray, my
missions into near space can detect a single atom that
originated in another star.

Weather Stations
Do you want to know the air temperature, pressure,
and relative humidity found in near space? If so, then
launch a lightweight weather station. A pressure sensor will
show that the atmospheric pressure decreases by a factor
MARCH 2004 63
NearSpace.qxd 2/4/2004 11:50 PM Page 64

Near Space

Technology Testing radios to a few tens of miles.

A near spacecraft makes a fantastic repeater
The air in near space is too thin to conduct a signifi- platform. Under ideal conditions, a repeater on a near
cant amount of heat to/from experiments. Instead of ther- spacecraft at an altitude of 100,000 feet lets two individu-
mal contact with the air, the primary source of heat for als 800 miles apart communicate with one another using
exposed experiments is radiation transfer from the sun inexpensive handheld radios. You can see that a near
(unless heaters are added to the experiment). This is spacecraft with a radio repeater imitates a communica-
similar to the situation found in space and on the surface tion satellite. In this case, however, it's much cheaper and
of most planetary bodies in our solar system. it’s your communication satellite!
Launching a piece of equipment on a near spacecraft
to an altitude of 100,000 feet is a fantastic way to test its Program Management
ability to function in a real space flight. In near space, Experience
equipment under test is exposed to a combination of cold
temperature, low air pressure, and increased ultraviolet Aside from the experiments you can perform once
radiation. Tests performed at an altitude of 103,000 feet your near spacecraft is on station, there are additional
experience the same temperature and pressure found on benefits that you can gain from an amateur near space
the surface of Mars. If you include a camera or camcorder program. For one, you can gain experience in program
on the mission, then you will get images of the piece of management. There are several levels of management
equipment during its test with the earth's horizon in space in an amateur near space program. At the simplest level
as the backdrop. You may be able to get a sponsorship if is the management of a single mission. This means
a product logo is prominently displayed in the photograph. matching payloads to the physical, electrical, and logical
characteristics of the near spacecraft.
Near Space Communications The next level of management is the planning need-
ed for an entire mission. At this level, you are managing
Amateur radio communications with VHF and UHF flight readiness reviews, chase frequencies, launch site
radios (some of the most popular radios in the amateur selection, and the driving course for the chase and recov-
radio community) are usually limited to their line-of-sight. ery crew. There are also flight predictions to be made.
In most cases, line-of-sight is only a few miles. With few Flight predictions usually begin a week in advance of the
exceptions, these kinds of radios don't communicate well launch. They are made from weather reports, with the
with similar radios located over their local horizons. help of software available from the EOSS website
Repeaters — which are automated stations that retransmit (www.eoss.org). You can see that launch week is a very
radio communications — are usually located on either busy time for the launch manager.
mountain tops or tall radio towers. They have more dis- Beyond the management of a single mission is the
tant horizons and can extend the range of VHF and UHF management of an entire amateur near space program.
Such a program can easily
A Luckless Idaho Airborne Commando, launch in excess of four flights
Captured by a Kansas Farmer per year. It takes someone with
management skills to plan
missions over the years.
M r. Potato Head bravely para- getting his mug shot. All the
chuted from near space while, he was no doubt planning
during Idaho's attempt to invade his eventual escape to freedom
Funding and educational out-
reach are some of the impor-
Kansas. Riding the TVNSP among the peace-loving people tant issues which require high
(Treasure Valley Near Space of Idaho. level management. Managing
Project) near spacecraft and car- Finally, Mr. Potato Head was a near space program is simi-
rying a camouflage parachute, he thrown behind bars on a charge lar to managing a real space
made this airborne assault on the of trespassing. It's believed that program, except that its cost
farmlands of the Midwest during he never divulged the true
Great Plains Super Launch 2002. nature of his secret mission.
and scale are accessible to the
Unfortunately, before Mr. What lesson did Idahoan hobbyist.
Potato Head could complete his near space explorers learn from
secret mission, he was captured this sad event? They learned that Inspiration
by a local farmer and turned you don't parachute into Kansas
NUTS & VOLTS

over to the Dickinson County from an altitude of 50,000 feet Many people are inspired
Sheriff. The sheriff's department because Kansas farmers really by visiting locations like the
released these photographs of hate that. For GPSL 2004, Idaho Grand Canyon. A subset of
Everything For Electronics

Mr. Potato Head, which chronicle will instead attempt to drop

the events following his capture.
Here we see the grim, but
determined, Mr. Potato Head
64
propaganda leaflets from near
space upon the unsuspecting
masses of Kansas.
these people will go on to gain
deeper inspiration by actually
hiking through the landmark.
Just like the Grand Canyon,
MARCH 2004
NearSpace.qxd 2/4/2004 11:51 PM Page 65

Near Space

seeing or hearing about near space will inspire many peo-

ple. A subset of these people will go on to develop deeper
inspiration by designing and launching an experiment into
near space.
This experience and inspiration may encourage young
people to become scientists or engineers. At a minimum,
they will develop a better understanding and appreciation
of science and engineering. Near space is a hands-on
source of inspiration that lets people see and experience
work in a space-related field. If you decide to begin an
amateur near space program, be sure to show it to the
public. Share it at science fairs and on special days like
Space Day, Astronomy Day, and Field Day.

Adventure
There is one last benefit I can think of; in addition to
amateur science, program management, and inspiration,
there's the adventure. After liftoff of the stack (the near
spacecraft and its launch vehicle), crews will begin their
chase. A rough idea of the near spacecraft's landing zone
is known because of flight predictions; however, the details
of the chase and recovery are not known in advance.
Driving over obscure back roads and through tiny
towns can be great fun, especially when your convoy is
equipped with a dozen antennas, several laptops, and
radios. Try stopping at a gas station and waiting for a
balloon burst while constantly looking up at the sky — this
kind of behavior makes the locals wonder what you're up
to. When you show them a tiny dot in the sky and explain
that it's your balloon at 90,000 feet, you will amaze most
of them.
The last part of the chase, approaching the landing
zone, creates a high level of excitement as you attempt to
reach the near spacecraft before it lands. Be aware though,
the near spacecraft is under no obli-
gation to land close to the road.
Depending on the location of the
landing zone, your recovery crew MicroStamp11
may end up going for a hike to recov-
er the near spacecraft and launch The World’s Smallest
vehicle. Most of the time this hike is
fun, but it can also be a challenge, so
68HC11 Microcontroller
be prepared. Module!
After having recovered the near
spacecraft, your crew will usually
drop off their film and head to lunch.
Lunch is a time to share stories of
past and present adventures. Don't
be too surprised if you turn some
heads at the restaurant with your sto-
ries. You'll also realize that you prob-
ably did more that morning than
most people will do all weekend.
Final Comments toll-free USA and Canada
Six stacks are about to be launched.You’ll actually count
eight balloons because of the red piball (pilot balloon)
and the extra balloon on Don Pfister’s stack.
The piball was launched by EOSS to gauge wind speed
and direction before GPSL 2002 launched.
gram is low enough that almost anyone can get a foot in
the door. An amateur near space program is not a dead-
end activity. Just testing materials and their applications to
near space is an example of the important work that still
needs to be done. Best of all, the results of these tests are
applicable to spacecraft engineering and construction.
With more and better sensors and electronic devices
becoming available to the public, you'll always have new
experiments to perform in near space. If space exploration
appeals to you, but the cost is prohibitive, then consider
beginning your own poor man's space program. Where
TM
• harness the power of the world’s most popular 8-bit
microcontroller in your own projects!
• easy-to-use Windows interface for fast loading via
your PC’s serial port
• control LEDs, speakers, lights, relays, motors, LCDs,
servos, and much more with your own easy-to-write
programs
• “plug right in” to any solderless breadboard (with
included adapter), so you can try out your ideas fast!
• re-programmable in-circuit thousands of times!
• your program stays inside MicroStamp11™ until you
replace it– even with no power applied!
• runs on standard alkaline or NiCd batteries for hours,
or use a DC adapter
• tiny stamp-size 1.4 inch x 1.0 inch module
• demo of powerful new XPad visual programming
environment included with Starter Package!
• Starter Packages* from $49

The cost of a near space pro-

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* RS232 Docking Module, serial cable, manual, and software disk included in Starter Packages

MARCH 2004 65
NearSpace.qxd 2/4/2004 11:53 PM Page 66
Near Space
The author lifting the module of one of his near spacecraft.
The second module is green and can partially be seen in the
grass.The “Remove Before Flight” tag is a reminder for launch
crews to open the camera before launching the mission.
(Photo courtesy of Shari Conner, K9XTN)
else can you practice what it takes to build and launch a
spacecraft?
This article can't give you enough information to begin
your own near space program, so please consult one of
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
Circle #115 on the Reader Service Card.
66
About the Author
L. Paul Verhage is an electronics teacher at the Dehryl A.
Dennis Professional Technical Education Center in Boise, ID.
He began working in the amateur near space field in 1994
and has accomplished over 40 missions. His book,
Amateur Near Space with the BASIC Stamp 2p, will be
published this year by Parallax.
the near space groups for help. Otherwise, check with
Parallax for my upcoming book on creating and managing
your own poor man's space program with the BASIC
Stamp 2p.
You can begin your amateur near space program right
now by studying for your amateur radio license (if you
don't already have it). Several businesses, including some
of those advertising in Nuts & Volts, sell the book, Now
You're Talking. This book is one of the best study guides
for the amateur radio test. Are you worried about the
Morse code test? Don't worry, because you are no longer
required to know Morse code. Consult the ARRL website
(www.arrl.org) for the location of the amateur radio club
closest to you. Your local amateur radio club is your best
resource for earning your ticket.
Onwards and Upwards! NV
The descent of a near spacecraft.This one may belong to
Mark Conner’s (N9XTN) near space program, NSTAR.
What’s left of the balloon is visible to the left of the
parachute. Flight predictions allowed chase crews to be
close enough to the descending mission that Doug Eubank
(KA0O) of NSTAR was able to get this photograph (and
three other ones that morning — amazing).
Announcing N&V’s
Near Space Column
Part 1 of L. Paul Verhage’s near space article in the February
Nuts & Volts generated an overwhelming response from our
readers. In light of this, we have invited Paul to become our
monthly columnist on the subject of near space. His column
will begin in the April issue.
MARCH 2004
ShowcaseMar04.qxd 2/6/2004 9:03 AM Page 67

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News Bytes
On the Ground, But Off the Grid.
I n November 2003, the first commercial building to
receive 100% of its energy needs from alternative
sources was fully constructed and functioning. The 26,000
square foot Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy
Center (MAREC) became the first commercial project in
the world to integrate fuel cell technology, a heat recovery
system for heating and air conditioning, solar
photovoltaics, and a nickel metal hydride battery storage
system.
MAREC uses two main elements for generating power:
a fuel cell that can produce 250 kW of electricity from
natural gas and a solar panel array on the roof that can
deliver up to 30 kW, as well. Efficiencies as high as 60% are
being achieved with centralized generation and heat
recovery techniques. This says nothing of the optimized
architecture of the building itself — daylight penetrates 90%
of the occupied areas. This may be the future of small
building design, should the squeeze of fossil fuels get
tighter in the future.
So Much For Xenon.
I f the Cree Corporation (www.cree.com) has its way, the
end of this noble gas in consumer flash lamps is just
around the corner. Cree, an advanced R&D company in
Durham, NC, is well-known for its process to synthesize
vast amounts of moissanite — silicon carbide (SiC) — for
MARCH 2004
Page 69
Alamo 93
use in semiconductors, as well as gemology. Leveraging
their expertise in crystal growth techniques, they recently
announced the XThin series of high output, white LEDs.
The XT-18, pumping out an amazing 18 milliwatts of
optical power, is a germanium doped SiC substrate that
supports an indium gallium nitride anode, producing a
highly efficient solid state emitter. In the end, though, all
this fancy chemistry and material science will make your
next pocket-sized digital camera last longer on a battery
charge ... and put diamonds in the eyes of your subjects.
The Wrong Trousers? Almost.
S ure, you thought Nick Park was
making all that Techno-Trouser
stuff up in Wallace and Grommit.
Well, surprise, the engineers at
Japan’s Waseda University have
been at this for a while. Specializing
in walking machines, they’ve tuned
their control system to actually
carry a person atop a pair of
walking legs!
The WL-16 (Waseda Leg,
revision 16) weighs just over 100
lbs. and can carry slightly more than that as payload. The
control system, powered by an 850 MHz Pentium CPU,
calculates a ZMP (zero moment point) to stabilize the
system as balance is transferred between feet in the gait.
Steps can range from 100 mm to 300 mm each, limited by
the extension of the linear actuators that form the leg.
The Waseda researchers envision their research as
forming the basis for future mobility devices (walking chair
vs. wheelchair), as well as equipping future robots to work
effectively in environments designed for humans. Visit the
Nuts & Volts website to see a video of this machine in
action (www.nutsvolts.com) and the university website
for more information (in Japanese) www.takanishi.
mech.waseda.ac.jp/parallel/index_j.htm
69
Kornacher.qxd 2/5/2004 12:00 PM Page 70
CRC Detects Errors in Digital Data Communications and Can Encrypt Data
n our modern age, the importance of digital electronic
I data communications by telephone lines, through a
modem, special high-speed lines, or over the airwaves by
radio cannot be overstated. The transfer of information
via these media is critical for the successful operation of
government, military, business, and banking. Without this
technology, our information age and the Internet would
be impossible.
The reliability of data communications over
distance is of the utmost importance because of the
critical requirements of its users. If the medium cannot be
relied upon for error-free performance, it is useless. The
damaging effects that can compromise the system are
noise, distortion, and interference. These three gremlins
have the ability to turn a digital one bit message into a
digital zero bit and vice versa. If this reversal of a bit
occurs, then an error has crept in, possibly undetected.
This scenario could be disastrous.
Since we cannot guarantee a perfect medium
between a source transmitter and a destination receiver,
some method to detect errors must be employed.
Thankfully, there are some systems that can do this.
Parity check and checksum are two ways, but they
have limitations. Another method is a code called
Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). CRC is a popular and
powerful means to ensure that a transmitter and receiver
can communicate data reliably, even in the worst of
conditions. CRC is so well regarded that the Internet
relies on it for error detection.
In this article, I will present a short course on CRC
and supply the knowledge needed to implement simple
NUTS & VOLTS
digital electronic circuits to perform CRC. Later, I will
present a modification to the concept, where a method of
data encryption, along with the normal error-detecting
Everything For Electronics
feature, can be utilized.
70
Cyclic Redundancy Check is a code — or algorithm —
that has three basic and endearing qualities: it provides
extreme error detection capabilities, requires a minimum
of hardware and software, and is easy to implement.
These advantages can make the application of this
system by hobbyists and hardware hackers a reality. I
will demonstrate that CRC circuits are very easy to
breadboard and utilize.
Parity check, checksum, and CRC all work by
applying an algorithm to a message. This algorithm,
or code, produces a binary value that represents the
message in some digital logic way. This value is
then appended to the end of the message before it is
transmitted out. The receiver at the other end of the link
receives the message and binary value combination, then
applies the same algorithm to the message to produce its
own binary value. The receiver compares the two values
and, if they are equal, then the message was received
correctly. If they are not equal, then the receiver tells the
transmitter to retransmit the message.
The primary benefit of CRC is that it can detect more
types of data errors than the other two methods. For
instance, it can detect all single bit errors, all double bit
errors, any odd number of errors, and most burst errors.
Parity check, on the other hand, can only detect single bit
errors, while checksum can detect all single bit and some
multiple bit errors. Obviously, CRC is the most robust of
the group.
Modulo-2 Arithmetic
In exploring the theory behind CRC, we will begin
with a short lesson on modulo-2 arithmetic. Modulo-2
arithmetic is normal binary addition or subtraction, but is
not concerned with carrying or borrowing, as in decimal
MARCH 2004
Kornacher.qxd 2/5/2004 2:42 PM Page 71
arithmetic. For those familiar with logic half adders, it's just
the exclusive-OR logic operation. For example, adding,
subtracting, and multiplying, respectively, are as follows:
1111 1111 11011
+ 0110 - 0110 x 1101
1001 1001 11011
00000
11011
11011
10101111
In short, to add the bits in the columns when there is
an odd number of binary ones in a column, then the sum
of that column is a binary one. If there's an even number
of ones in the column, then the sum of that column is a
binary zero. It's that simple. Modulo-2 long division, which
we'll discuss next, is not so intuitive, but, by studying the
examples, the steps will become clear.
Cyclic Redundancy Check
Cyclic Redundancy Check can be described in three
ways: modulo-2 arithmetic (which I will continue with next),
polynomial arithmetic, and digital logic circuits. Because of
space limitations, I will not be able to present the polynomial
arithmetic aspect, but we will look at some circuits. We will
have to do some simple math; since we're just dealing with
ones and zeros, hopefully it won't be too difficult.
In a transmitter, let us define message M as being m
bits long. This m bit message will be divided, using
modulo-2 long division, by a pre-defined binary pattern
divisor P. The division, just like regular long division, will
produce an r bit long remainder R known as the Frame
Check Sequence (FCS). From now on, I shall refer to
remainder value R as the FCS to prevent confusion with
other remainders that will be discussed later. The r bit FCS
will be appended to the end of the m bit message M to be
sent out as the data transmission.
The previous paragraph has thus defined the
philosophy employed in the
transmitter. There are a few loose Example 1
ends. The length of pattern P,
therefore, must be r + 1 bits long. 1101010110 <-Q
The number of bits of the FCS
must be less than the number of P-> 110101|1000110100000110101
bits of message M, or r < m. 111011
The long division process can 110101
be done by either software or, as I 111010
110101
will later show, by hardware. The 111110
division is the easiest to do in soft- 110101
ware, but hardware is much faster.
To perform the division properly,
message M must initially be padded
with r zero trailing bits. At the end of
the division process, the r zero bits
MARCH 2004
will be replaced by r remainder bits to become the FCS.
The transmitter's pre-defined pattern divisor P is a
code word or key that must be known by the receiver, too.
The quotient produced by the division has no function in
this scheme and is thus ignored. Incidently, though, the
number of bits q of quotient Q will be the same as the num-
ber of bits of message M, or q = m. Later, I will show how
the quotient can be used in a method of data encryption.
When the receiver receives the data — message M with
the FCS — it divides this combination, in modulo-2, by the
identical pattern divisor P that the transmitter used. If the
remainder of this division is zero, then no errors crept into
message M during transmission and the validity of the
message can be ensured. The quotient of this division is,
again, not used in this process and is also ignored.
With this much now known, see Example 1 for a
reference regarding using modulo-2 long division. The
remainder, 1110, is four bits long, but, since we know that
the length of the remainder must be one bit less than the
divisor for a total of five bits, we add a zero to the most
significant bit (MSB) so it becomes 01110. The quotient,
just for the sake of completeness, also has a zero added to
the least significant bit (LSB), because its length must be
equal to the message for a total of ten bits.
The FCS remainder R, 01110, is appended to
message M, 1010001101, to become 101000110101110,
which is transmitted. The receiver obtains the message
and divides 101000110101110 by the same pattern P to
produce, if there are no errors, a remainder of zero, as we
will see in the modulo-2 long division shown in Example 2.
Since the remainder is zero, no errors occurred during
transmission and the message is valid and reliable.
Digital Circuits
Having now finished covering the fundamentals, you
might be wondering how all this gets us to some practical
logic circuits. The truth of the matter is that the mathemat-
ical division operations we just discussed can be represent-
ed by digital shift registers. In addition, the binary ones and
Example 2
1101010110 <-Q
________________
<-M P-> 110101|101000110101110 <-M
110101
111011
110101
111010
110101
111110
110101
101100 101111
110101 110101
110010 110101
110101 110101
01110 <-R 00000 <-R
71
Kornacher.qxd 2/5/2004 12:00 PM Page 72
Cyclic Redundancy Checks
zeros of the pattern-divisor correspond to the presence or
absence of a simple exclusive-OR logic gate.
This information tells us how to build the circuit
that will be the pattern divisor, which will generate the
FCS used in CRC. A branch of error control code theory
called cyclic codes is what we have been talking about
previously. Fortunately, shift register circuits and
exclusive-OR gate logic can imitate the function of
modulo-2 math and cyclic codes.
To build the divisor circuit, the number of shift-regis-
ters and exclusive-OR gates needed is determined by the
bits of the divisor pattern P. If we have j total number of
bits in the pattern P, then we need j - 1 number of shift reg-
isters. And, if k is the number of binary one bits of P, then
k - 1 will be the number of exclusive-OR
Figure 2
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
72
gates needed.
Let us now
present the
schematic for the
pattern divisor cir-
Figure 1 cuit in Figure 1.
Please notice that
this circuit uses a serial logic feedback arrangement. This
will allow the serial data message to be divided in
modulo-2 long division arithmetic. Also, a circuit usually
has the input on the left and the output on the right, but
here, I have reversed it to more closely resemble the
convention used in writing binary numbers, where the
MSB is on the left and LSB is on the right. This way, it will
be easier to understand the connection between the two.
As you can see, it is relatively simple for this circuit to
perform a long division operation in modulo-2 on serial
data. The shift register chip I used for this project is a TTL
74273 and the exclusive-OR gate chip is a 7486. The 74273
has eight independent shift registers with a common clock
and master reset. The registers can be connected together
or have the exclusive-OR gates inserted in between,
MARCH 2004
Kornacher.qxd 2/5/2004 12:01 PM Page 73

Cyclic Redundancy Checks

according to where the one bits of the wanted to show how the basic divider
pattern are located.
Example 3 circuit worked and what peripheral
Figure 2 is the schematic for the Q-> 1101010110 circuits were needed to accomplish
whole circuit I used to demonstrate 110101 <-P that.
the CRC principle. In the lower right is 1101010110 Another way of looking at this
0000000000
the divider circuit, just mentioned. On 1101010110 circuit is as if it was being employed
top is the circuit to input the message 0000000000 at the receiver end, since both the
to be serially shifted through the 1101010110 receiver's divider circuit and the
1101010110
divider circuit. It uses two 74165 101000110101110 transmitter's divider circuit are
eight-input parallels to serial shift identical. With this way of looking at
registers. On the lower left is a 74164 M-> (1010001101)(01110) <-R it, the lower part of the circuit in
serial to parallel eight-output shift Figure 2 would be the receiver and
register to hold and display the output data. the top part of the circuit would simulate the transmitter.
There is a de-bounced switch to manually operate the So, according to your point of view, the circuit could
shift-clock and another logic switch to simultaneously load separately simulate both ends of a network.
the 74165s with the message and clear the registers of With this in mind, if the five padded zeros appended to
the 74273 and 74164 to zero. The LEDs will be used to the message are replaced with the FCS value of 01110 and
indicate the states of the registers and values that we are the clear-load is initiated, then, after toggling the shift-clock
interested in. 15 times, the quotient will again appear at the output
To make the circuit work, message M plus the padded LEDs, but this time, the divider circuit will show a remain-
five zeros — 101000110100000 — must be applied to the der value of zero (no LEDs illuminated), thus showing that
74165s, as shown, by setting the input data switches high the receiver received the message correctly, proving the
or low, accordingly. Then, to load the 74165s with the CRC operation.
message and to reset the 74273 and 74164, the clear-load
line must be momentarily brought low, then high. It is Data Encryption
imperative that the registers are initialized to the zero state
or our calculation will be wrong. If you will recall, I said that the long division process
Next, it is a simple matter of toggling the shift-clock by the transmitter CRC circuit, which produced the FCS
control to shift the message through the divider circuit remainder, also produced the quotient Q. This quotient, as
until the quotient 1101010110 appears at the end of the I said, being an unneeded byproduct of the process, was
74164. The FCS remainder value 01110 will appear from ignored. To implement a method of data encryption, this
the divider circuit, proving the operation of the transmit- quotient can be utilized. Hence, instead of transmitting the
ter's CRC circuit. Do not shift any further; any more message and FCS in the usual way, the quotient and FCS
shifting will corrupt the remainder. Since the message with could be transmitted. The receiver, in turn, instead of
the five zeros is 15 bits long, it should take 15 toggles of dividing like before, would simply multiply the received
the shift-clock to move
Figure 3
it through to the end.
This design would
probably be very close
to an actual transmitter
circuit employed in a
system. What I have
not shown is that the
FCS remainder value
would be appended to
message M in another
circuit and then shifted
out to be encoded in
the format to be trans-
mitted. This format
would either be a
modem for a telephone
line or a modulator for
a radio transmitter. I
omitted this, as I only

MARCH 2004 73
Kornacher.qxd 2/5/2004 12:01 PM Page 74
Cyclic Redundancy Checks
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the ultimate weapon of the easily be deciphered without knowing
future. Produces force fields, the key, which is pattern P. Thus, the
induces shocks and other weird data could obtain a high level of
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IOG9 Plans .........................$10.00 communicating sites.
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us use Example 3 to confirm the
multiplication arithmetic of the
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Receiver and bits of the product in Example 3,
laser illuminator which is the calculated FCS, are
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Electrokinetic Guns Figure 2 to be the multiplier circuit of
Fires an actual Figure 3, the demonstration circuit
projectile using a can now verify the data encryption
magnetic pulse. Advanced method. Load the 74165 chips
project must be used with with the quotient and FCS
caution. Battery powered. value, 110101011001110, toggle the
EML3 Plans ......................... $8.00 shift-clock just 10 times, and watch
the real message and calculated FCS,
NUTS & VOLTS
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101000110101110, appear at the
Information Unlimited LEDs.
Box 716, Amherst, NH 03031 USA Here, we only had to shift 10
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Orders: 1-800-221-1705 times to get the 15-bit product (mes-
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Email: riannini@metro2000.net toggles of the shift-clock would shift
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Circle #152 on the Reader Service Card.
74
the multiplier circuit would corrupt
the FCS, so some minor modifica-
tions would be needed to be able to
see the value. Just know that the
transmitted FCS is present and
waiting to be shifted in and received.
Now, I must confess that,
although I do not know of any system
that uses this particular method
of data encryption, I have shown
that it is a mathematically and
electronically possible technique.
Conclusion
Although Cyclic Redundancy
Check is not as advanced as the error
correcting codes that are now
available, it is an excellent means of
detecting transmission errors in
digital data communications. CRC is
popular and is used in many systems,
like the Internet, Ethernet, Public
Switched Data Networks, Token-ring
Networks, and amateur packet
radio. The mathematics and the
electronics are very simple and the
circuits can be easily constructed.
By inferring from the given example,
circuits for any divisor pattern can be
produced.
We also found that, with a slight
modification to the CRC philosophy,
a data encryption method could
be realized that would effectively
privatize information between net-
works and, most importantly, would
still possess all the error detection
capabilities, too.
What I did not elaborate on is
how the association between
modulo-2 math and the digital
circuits works and what pattern code
words are best. This, unfortunately,
would require a whole course on the
theory of error control codes, with all
of the attendant linear and abstract
algebra. It would be difficult to
condense into just a few pages.
Fortunately, there are many
books on the subject for those who
want a deeper understanding.
Internet searches for CRC will also
provide much information on this
topic. What I have hopefully done is
given enough guidance for you to
experiment with Cyclic Redundancy
Check for yourself. NV
MARCH 2004
ClassifiedsMar.qxd 2/5/2004 12:57 PM Page 75

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MARCH 2004 77
BookstoreMar04.qxd 2/5/2004 12:21 PM Page 78

Selected Titles for the Electronics Hobbyist and Technician—

The Nuts & Volts Hobbyist Bookstore

Robotics JunkBots, Bugbots, and Bots on 10 Cool LEGO Mindstorms: Dark
Wheels: Building Simple Robots With Side Robots,Transports, and Creatures
SUMO BOT BEAM Technology by Kevin Clague / Søren Rolighed /
by Myke Predko / Ben Wirz by David Hrynkiw / Mark Tilden Miguel Agullo / Hideaki Yabuki
Here’s a fun and Ever wonder what to do Okay, you bought the
affordable way for with those discarded kit for yourself or one
hobbyists to take their items in your junk draw- of your kids.You used
robot-building skills to er? Now, you can use the instructions in the
the next level and be electronic parts from old box to build a robot
part of the hottest Walkmans, spare remote or two. Now what?
new craze in amateur controls, and even paper You may not be ready
robotics: Sumo com- NEW
clips to build your very to design and build
K it ! own autonomous robots your own robots, but
petition. Sumo
and gizmos. Get step-by- you don't want to
Great for ages 14+, the kit comes step instructions from the Junkbot masters build the same robot
complete with: for creating simple and fun self-guiding over again.This book is the perfect aide for
robots safely and easily using common and building additional projects from the same
• Pre-assembled PCB not-so-common objects from around the kit, then improvising and designing your
• Multi-function, dual-channel remote house. Using BEAM technology, ordinary own.Ten cool projects — one hour each
control tools, salvaged electronic bits, and the — perfect! $24.95
• Robot hardware, including collision- occasional dead toy, construct a solar-pow-
sensing infrared LED and receivers ered obstacle-avoiding device, a mini-sumo-
• CD-ROM with programming instructions wrestling robot, a motorized walking robot
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and file chapters of robot building tips and Implementation, Second Edition
tricks join the robot-building revolution! $24.99
• A built-in Parallax BASIC Stamp 2 and by Joseph L. Jones / Anita M. Flynn /
prototyping area, allowing hobbyists to Bruce A. Seiger
create their own robot applications Building Robot Drive Trains Revised and updated, the
without having to purchase additional by Dennis Clark / Michael Owings second edition includes
Parallax products $99.95 This essential title is just several new chapters with
what robotics hobbyists projects and applications.
need to build an effective Robotics has made quan-
drive train using inexpen- tum leaps since the first
Robots, Androids, and sive, off-the-shelf parts. publication of Mobile
Animatrons, Second Edition Leaving heavy-duty “tech Robots: Inspiration to
by John Iovine speak” behind, the authors Implementation.With the N E W !
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built devices, including a own robot drive train: informative text, Mobile Robots guides the
complete parts list. Also • The Basics of Robot Locomotion reader through the step-by-step process of
ideal for anyone interested in electronic • Motor Types: An Overview constructing two different and inexpensive
and motion control, this cult classic gives • Using DC Motors — yet fully functional — robots. $34.00
you the building blocks you need to go • Using RC Servo Motors
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A major revision of the Consumer Electronics Without a
bestselling "bible" of ama- • Glossary of Terms,Tables, and Formulas
Schematic
teur robotics building —
packed with the latest in by Homer Davidson
servo motor technology,
CNC Robotics In this book, Homer
microcontrolled robots, by Geoff Williams Davidson gives you
remote control, Lego Written by an accom- hands-on, illustrated
Mindstorms Kits, and other plished workshop bot guidance on how to
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NUTS & VOLTS

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MARCH 2004
BookstoreMar04.qxd 2/5/2004 12:22 PM Page 79

Call 1-800-783-4624 today! or

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Encyclopedia of Electronic Microcontrollers The Nuts & Volts of BASIC
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MARCH 2004 79
PersonalRobotics.qxd 2/4/2004 11:20 PM
Personal Robotics
Understanding, Designing, and Constructing Robots and Robotic Systems
Personal Robotics
Universal Robotics Controller
V
ery often, in our quest for
functionality, we stray away
from our processor of
choice when we need a feature that
just isn't found in our magic bag of
tricks. Often times, we are forced
to look in directions we wouldn't
normally consider.
Consider the desktop PC — most
likely interfaced to a 20 GB or larger
hard drive, possibly with more than
256 MB of RAM, and probably run-
ning at better than a 1 GHz bus
speed. Try generating accurate PWM
on the parallel port, however, and you
are in for a challenge. The desktop
PC just isn't made for that.
In this article, I will lay out some
groundwork for a "universal robotics
controller" that, for convenience, will
initially be interfaced to a personal
computer via RS232 or a USB to
RS232 converter, but could just as
easily be adapted to other microcom-
puters and microcontrollers via RS232,
RS422, RS485, SPI, or even CANbus.
To keep things fun, I have
chosen to interface to LynxMotion's
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
80
Page 80
L6 robotic arm. The L6 arm has six
R/C servos and presents quite a
challenge from a dynamics point of
view. Instead of using the IsoPod, I
decided to try my hand at the
ServoPod, the IsoPod's big brother.
The ServoPod is essentially identical,
except that it has more storage and
more analog inputs. Also, since it was
specifically designed for R/C servos, it
is a little easier to work with, as well.
To accomplish this, we need a few key
elements: a command interpreter, a
kinematics engine, and a motion
processor.
The command interpreter is our
interface to the outside world. The
kinematics engine essentially uses
trigonometry to "untangle" the arm
into an easily manageable system.
Finally, we have a motion processor
that will drive our R/C servos.
Because of the modularity of IsoMax,
we easily re-write any of these ele-
ments to accommodate different
hardware. To work off the CANbus,
for instance, we simply redirect the
command interpreter to look at the
CAN module for
input, rather than the
serial port. Similarly,
if we wanted to run
six quadrature encod-
ed motors instead of
R/C servos, we would
simply re-write the
motion processor to
accommodate six
PID loops and
accept quadrature
feedback from the
timer modules.
In order to
accomplish Step 1,
by Mike Keesling
we have to "lift the hood" on IsoMax.
Be prepared, because this is where
things get a little wired (cool for
weird). IsoMax, a superset of
FORTH, is like a programming
language construction set. With it,
you build new words by stringing
together previously defined words.
These words themselves can further
be strung together into even more
words. In this way, what you are
doing is writing your own language
and, the deeper you nest these
words, the higher the level of the lan-
guage you are writing, since the
words get more specific to the task
at hand. The converse of this is true
regarding the previously defined
words. The deeper you go into their
own definitions, the closer you get to
the compiler and command inter-
preter. This deep, dark place is
where we will draw our secrets from
in order to build our own command
interpreter. We will tap into the power
of EVALUATE (see sidebar).
EVALUATE looks at a string at a
given address, of a given length, and
acts upon it as though you had typed
it in. In this example, we are looking at
the terminal input buffer, but we can
re-write it to look at any input stream.
The implications of this are
far-reaching. For instance, you can
actually build software that writes
software by combing previously
defined words into strings and
executing them on their own. In the
context we care about, this means
that you can accept a stream of data
from any source and act on it.
Because of this unique architecture,
we can simply tell the command
interpreter to look at something and
MARCH 2004
 PersonalRobotics.qxd 2/4/2004 11:20 PM Page 81

ng Personal Robotics

do what it says. All the groundwork

for telling the processor to do
EVALUATE
something has already been laid out : EVALUATE ( addr n -- )
and it is simply up to us to inject our TIB @ >R >IN @ >R #TIB @ >R (TIB is the terminal input buffer
commands that we want operated on. 2DUP + 0 SWAP C! (append a null terminator, req'd by INTERPRET
To do this in another language, #TIB ! TIB ! (tell interpret how big and where it will work
you would have to build up a deep 0 >IN ! (reset the input stream
INTERPRET
IF/THEN or CASE structure to filter R> #TIB ! R> >IN ! R> TIB ! ; (leave things how we found them
through the received data, look for
valid commands, build up a final You can tell how deep in the language we are by looking at the definition
condition for the bit of code you want of EVALUATE, which relies on INTERPRET as the basis of its functionality.
executed, and then execute that bit. INTERPRET literally does just this; it interprets the input string. If you
By using EVALUATE, we can choose do a listing of WORDS, you will see that INTERPRET is defined very early in
our stream of word definitions.
our input stream and build our own
command interpreter, above IsoMax's
command interpreter. be dangerous. Here, we can even can also take the commanded
Never one to leave things simple, redefine words present in the position for the tip and calculate the
I like to build an extensible architec- language, thus giving us a fusion of joint angles required to achieve that
ture. If I am going to have a bunch of IsoMax and whatever else we are position. These methods are called
identical pieces of code running defining (see Figure 1). forward and inverse kinematics,
about on separate modules or virtual Now that we have the command respectively. Consult Figure 2 to get
modules on the same piece of hard- interpreter out of the way, we can a better sense of what is going on.
ware, it is necessary to have some concentrate on the kinematics of our Since the entire arm moves
sort of addressing scheme. I prefer to code. Since the Lynxmotion arm is perpendicular to the ground, all of the
use ASCII characters in the range of so robustly constructed, it is feasible joints lie on the same plane. This
0x80 to 0xFF, with ASCII 0x80 as a to do this while still expecting plane rotates with the base's servo, so
global address and all address above reasonable results. I had feared that I the angle of the arm is the angle of
that as unique addresses. would have to add encoding to the the base. The next two coordinates —
This isn't to say that you must L6 arm to get accurate positional the radius and the height — can be
have a single address for one piece of information from the arm because calculated from the cosines and sines
hardware; it just means you can have of the non-linearity of the servos. As of the joints (SHOULDER, ELBOW,
multiple occurrences of identical it turns out, though, I didn't have to and WRIST), multiplied by the lengths
hardware or software all running on turn towards the ServoPod's quadra- (HUMERUS, ULNA, and HAND), with
the same bus. This works particularly ture readers or analog channels. BASE as an offset.
well on multi-drop serial networks. Instead, I ran the servos’ open loop
So now, instead of using the and expected them to reach their The height of the ELBOW is simply:
typical method of filtering through a commanded positions with reason- SIN(SHOULDER) * HUMERUS + BASE
nest of IF/THEN statements to deter- able accuracy.
mine what command we want to exe- There are actually two different The radius is simply:
cute, we use some simple state directions we can approach the issue COS(SHOULDER) * HUMERUS
machine architecture to filter the of kinematics from.
address bytes of our serial data and First, we can take all of the A similar process finds the positions
some more state machine stuff to commanded joint positions and of the WRIST, with only some minor
turn the data into something that calculate the position of the tip; we additions to the formula.
EVALUATE can understand. Of
course, there is always more
Figure 1
"cool" to explore. In this case, it is
the ability to "turn off" most of
IsoMax. By closing the dictionary
of previously defined words at a
certain point in memory, only the
words defined after that point will
be available through our own
command interpreter. This will
keep us from accidentally "bump-
ing into" IsoMax words that could
MARCH 2004 81
PersonalRobotics.qxd 2/4/2004 11:21 PM Page 82

Personal Robotics

I have encoded this information into

Figure 2 a cute little Microsoft Excel spread-
sheet, which is available online at
www.nutsvolts.com
Not happy with a simple six-axis
robotic arm, I decided to make
things interesting. I decided to litter
the L6 arm with a bevy of Sharp
GP2D120 analog distance sensors.
These will allow the arm to have a
rudimentary sense of its environ-
ment and, hopefully, keep us from
knocking into things. Some of these
sensors will be mounted to addition-
al R/C servos, allowing me to inde-
pendently scan for objects on the
platform around the arm. Thanks to
the floating point in the ServoPod,
the single line of code converts the
output of the GP2D120 to inches.

: FDIST S>F FNEGATE 1.00623082E03

The height is:
SIN(SHOULDER + ELBOW ) *
ULNA + ELBOW + BASE
The radius is:
COS(SHOULDER + ELBOW ) *
ULNA + ELBOW
To get the final position of the Tip,
we take it a bit further.
The height is expressed as:
SIN(SHOULDER + ELBOW + WRIST) *
HAND + ELBOW + WRIST + BASE
NUTS & VOLTS
Finally, the radius of the tip is:
COS(SHOULDER + ELBOW + WRIST) *
HAND + ELBOW + WRIST
If different co-ordinate spaces
are more useful to you, feel free to
jump over to X-Y-Z or spherical, if
you so choose.
The next case, working out the
joint angles in response to a
Cartesian input, is a little trickier. I
know I am bleary-eyed from reading
that last bit of trig, so, rather than
lose my audience in a bunch of math,
F/ FEXP 2.66564399E01 F*
2.224960E0 F+ ;
Inches=2.224960+26.6564399*
e^(-(A/D counts)/1006.23082)
We can also adapt the forward
kinematics to calculate the locations
of the objects that the Sharp sensors
are seeing. If you treat the angle of
the sensor to the arm as a joint angle
and the distance the sensor reads as
the length of a joint, then you can get
the coordinates of the object the
sensor is reading. The distance
the sensor reads is now the next
segment length! In this way, if we see
something that we calculate at
anything above 0, we know it is a
"thing". By scanning the arm around,
we can effectively map the "thing"
and determine whether it is some-
thing our gripper can accommodate
(see Figure 3).
The last piece of the puzzle is
fairly straightforward. Driving R/C
servos is pretty much routine for the
personal roboticist. A command

pulse of 1.0 to 2.0 ms every 50th of

a second controls the position of the
output shaft. Luckily for us, the
Everything For Electronics

ServoPod does this with hardware

registers.
Be warned that the command
pulse length varies somewhat from
MARCH 2004
82
PersonalRobotics.qxd 2/4/2004 11:21 PM Page 83

Personal Robotics Learn About

manufacturer to manufacturer and
from model to model. It is even
possible to damage a servo by run-
ning it into its end stops. (Not that I
speak from experience, mind you.)
What this means in the long run is
that we should calibrate each servo's
position, compared to its command
pulse. This will allow us to command
the output in units we are accus-
tomed to and have the servo respond
predictably by building a table in code
which contains the minimum and
maximum servo input range and the
corresponding values we write to the
command registers to achieve them.
We can achieve ultimate control
by building a motion processor. This
processor will run at a periodic rate,
typically the update rate of the R/C
servos, since any faster wouldn't do
us much good. We will provide
this processor with the desired
acceleration, velocity, and position of
our servos. With every cycle through
the motion processor, the processor
will increment the servo's position by
a specific amount that we can call
a velocity. In addition, we can incre-
ment this velocity, starting at 0 and
continuing to some maximum, by an
acceleration.
When we get to the point in our
program when it is time to slow down,
Microcontrollers
we decrement our velocity by our accel-
With the
eration amount until we reach a speed
of zero, at which point we will be at our Athena
desired position. In this way, we can
$6.95ea
achieve smooth, controlled motion.
•Basic Language
So, to tally up our hardware, we •I2c/SPI
have a LynxMotion L6 arm, which has •15 IO Ports
six R/C servos (two R/C servos with •Hardware Serial IO
GP2D120s mounted to them) and •No External Components
•Free Development Software
five more GP2D120 distance sensors •Several Carrier Boards
mounted to the arm. This leaves us •Super High Speed Version Available
another nine analog inputs, which I •Educational Kits Available
•Upgrade Path to Dios
will eventually use six of to add
•Online Forums
current sensing to the arm's servos. It •Tutorial
also leaves us with 14 more outputs
that can control R/C servos or even Athena Carrier Boards
quadrature encoded motors.
In terms of software, we have
built our own servo control language
to which we can add other functional-
ity as the need arises, like sensing
current, controlling other devices, or Starting At $5.95
orchestrating communications
through other channels. It is even
possible to use the IsoPod purely as a Educational Package
numerical co-processor, handling Athena Microcontroller
Athena EDU board
floating-point operations for more
Bread Board
taxed elements of your system. Wire Kit
Hopefully, I have sparked your LED’s
imagination and sent your mind Capacitors
Resistors
reeling, looking for other applica-
tions. Please visit ww.nutsvolts.com $49.95 Buttons
Software
for spreadsheets and source code
pertaining to this article. NV Free Software

Figure 3
Software has built-in
command wizard.

It contains syntax and

code examples for
each command.

Kronos Robotics
and Electronics
www.kronosrobotics.com
703-779-9752 !!
fax 703-779-9753
e b site
w
this
•Onlinee Store
v
i e
el Information
b
•Free
u w on’t •Free Software
Yo
•Projects
•PC Boards

MARCH 2004 Circle #77 on the Reader Service Card. 83

InTheTrenches.qxd 2/4/2004 11:41 PM Page 84
In The Trenches
The Business of Electronics Through Practical Design and Lessons Learned
In The Trenches
Troubleshooting Circuits
M
uch of a design engineer's
time is spent making things
that aren't working work.
Often times, this can be a real
challenge, especially if the design
steps (circuit design, board layout,
assembly, etc.) are performed by
different people. The engineer must
determine not only the problem with
the product, but also which design
step is faulty and how to correct it.
This month, we'll look at some
approaches that can help in such
situations.
Repair
Engineers are generally not
called in for simple repairs — it's too
expensive. However, they may be
called in to determine the cause of
failures. For example, the pass transis-
tor in the power-supply fails too often;
this is really a circuit analysis problem
and will not be discussed. After all, the
problem with the circuit has been
identified. Rather, we will discuss how
to find and identify circuit problems.
Engineers will often be called to
locate a failure that suddenly appears
for no apparent reason with a product.
It is very important to know before-
hand that there is, indeed, a reason.
Something has changed. Regardless
of what the manager or technician has
said, something is different in the new
product. This is obvious; if nothing
had changed, the product would still
work.
NUTS & VOLTS
Sometimes, but not very often,
the failure has a fairly obvious cause. I
say not often because something that
Everything For Electronics
is easy to fix often would have been
found by a technician — engineers get
the juicy problems.
In most instances, the best
84
approach is to put a working old
product and a failing new product side
by side and compare any differences.
First, do a detailed visual exami-
nation. Is the PCB (Printed Circuit
Board) the same revision? If there
is even a minor difference in parts
layout, you can be sure the revisions
are different. Look closely. Are all of
the parts identical? Do the capacitors
and resistors have the same values?
Sometimes, someone grabs a wrong
reel and 10K ohm resistors are where
1K resistors should be. Are the toler-
ance values the same? Are the ICs
(integrated circuits) identical and from
the same manufacturer? Most often, a
74LSxx and a 74ALSxx are compati-
ble, but not always. Even worse, differ-
ent manufacturers have different man-
ufacturing processes, which results in
the "same" chips being different.
I think it's important to really note
this point. The "same" chips from
different manufacturers can be very
different. Take the 74LS123 chip as an
example; this is a timer chip and uses
an external resistor and capacitor
(RC) for timing. The table below shows
the nominal timing for a 10K resistor
and 100 pF capacitor.
Signetics 500 nS
Texas Instruments 600 nS
SGS (Thompson) 530 nS
Motorola 550 nS
You can see that there is up to a
20% difference in pulse widths. If a
74123 is used for a 74LS123, the
difference can be as much as 100%. I
chose this old part to illustrate a point;
if a basic, simple circuit like the
74LS123 is so different, what will the
difference be with different manufac-
turing processes (74HCxx, 74ALSxx,
by Gerard Fonte
74Hxx, etc.)? What does complexity
add to the difference? That's simple —
the more complicated the chip, the
greater the likelihood of difference.
Even the same chip from the
same manufacturer can be different.
In particular, "die shrink" parts (parts
reduced in size to use less silicon) can
be subtly different.
Does your new product use a "B"
version of the microprocessor (µP)
while the old one has an "A" version?
Of course, if there is a programmed
part in your product, you must check
if the programming is the same. This
last question is not always easy to
verify, but should be.
If there are no physical differences
between the old and new versions, you
will have to examine the electrical
differences.
The best way to do this is with a
side-by-side comparison. It's helpful to
reduce the size of the problem, if you
can; you can use the same power sup-
ply for both boards. Remove or disable
extraneous circuits; if this makes a
difference, you've found an important
clue. Once you've located an electrical
difference, finding the problem is
usually fairly straightforward. Be
patient, thorough, logical, and think
about what you are doing.
Don't forget to take notes; there's
nothing worse than wondering if
something you saw yesterday is
different today. Remember, there must
be an electrical difference or there
wouldn't be a problem.
Re-design
If you don't have an old product to
compare with the problem unit, then
you have to treat it as a re-design
problem. This approach is a little more
MARCH 2004
 InTheTrenches.qxd 2/4/2004 11:41 PM Page 85
te
general and less mechanical than
comparing two units. Normally, you
will have had some contact with the
re-design because re-designs are done
by engineers. However, with overseas
contractors, high turnover rates, force
reductions, and everything else, it's
becoming more common to be called
in cold.
When troubleshooting a re-design,
you do have the knowledge that a sim-
ilar product did, indeed, work at some
time in the past. This means that it's
unlikely to find a fundamental error in
the design. Rather, you are expecting
to find a more subtle error. You are
looking for an incompatibility, rather
than an outright failure.
First, define precisely what the
problem actually is. It's surprising how
often this is overlooked. What defines a
failure and what defines proper opera-
tion? These specifications should be
available. If not, you may never be able
to fix the problem.
For example, a friend was once
tasked to reduce the noise in a
specialized counter. The last three
digits weren't stable. The first day, he
found some power supply noise that
could be filtered out and, by doing so,
he was able to improve matters. Only
the last two digits were unstable. After
two more days, he got down to only
one unstable digit.
Finally, at the weekly meeting, he
had to admit that he was having real
problems getting the last digit stable
without significant changes to the
circuit. His boss answered, "Only the
last digit is unstable? Gee. That's better
than it's ever worked." It turned out that
the last two digits were expected to be
unstable. He had spent four additional
frustrating days trying to make
something "work" when it was already
working to specifications.
Once you define the problem, you
can usually find it fairly quickly.
However, finding the problem and find-
ing the cause of the problem can
sometimes be two different things.
Nevertheless, this generally targets the
problem to a specific area, which is
important.
This tells you where to concentrate
MARCH 2004
your efforts. A failure in one circuit
rarely causes a failure in an apparently
unrelated circuit — rarely, not never.
The first thing I do is carefully check
the power supply. It is amazing how
many bizarre effects can come from a
problem there. Look for noise, spikes,
etc. A high frequency oscilloscope is
required. Sometimes, a spectrum
analyzer is useful here. Check at the
power-supply source, at the suspected
circuit, and at individual chips of that
circuit. (I had one µP that actually
executed the wrong instructions when
the power supply was too low.)
RF (radio-frequency) noise on the
power supply line is sometimes difficult
to see, but can wreak havoc with both
analog and digital circuits. Analog IC
front-ends rectify RF and can cause
drift, offset, oscillation, distortion, and
lots of other strange effects. Digital cir-
cuits can get triggered, reset, or simply
latched-up.
If the power supply is okay, then
you have to actually think. What could
cause the problem you are seeing?
(Sometimes, it's useful to make a
list.) Next, devise a way to test for this
possibility. Run the test and see what
happens. Again, it's useful to
document what you do; this saves you
time and confusion if the cause of the
problem is hard to find.
Make a Test Circuit
Sometimes, you can't easily do a
test on the circuit in question. Perhaps
you want to cut a lot of traces or need
access to a point that is physically
difficult to get to. In this case, it's
sometimes possible to make a test
circuit. This is almost always useful,
but, because of the time and effort
involved, it's not always practical.
If the test circuit fails in the same
way as the problem circuit, then you
have a much easier circuit to work with.
You've eliminated extraneous parts of
the system and have narrowed the
problem down to a unit that you can
control better. On the other hand, if the
test circuit works properly, you now
have something to compare the faulty
circuit with. Clearly, this makes things
easier, too.
Circle #134 on the Reader Service Card.
85
InTheTrenches.qxd 2/4/2004 11:42 PM
In The Trenches
Add Sockets
Often, you'll want to measure
current in to or out of a chip, add noise
filters, or do other things that are not
easily accomplished with the IC on the
board. The answer is to put in an IC
socket. This makes pin isolation easy.
Just bend it outward slightly, so that it
doesn't go into the socket. The ability
to use "component carriers" or "DIP
headers" with sockets is an even better
option. These allow you to physically
connect any circuit to a socket. I've
seen some plug-in test circuits on
headers that were very complicated.
If your product doesn't use DIP
(Dual In-line) footprints (which is
increasingly the case) you may have to
improvise. Sometimes, it's possible to
buy converters. Often, you can make
something. If your product uses a 200
pin IC with 0.5 mm lead pitch ... never
mind.
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
Circle #80 on the Reader Service Card.
86
Page 86
New Design
Troubleshooting
The vast majority of engineering
and hobbyist troubleshooting is done
with new designs. You are trying to get
something to work for the first time.
The problem could be anywhere.
Perhaps there is a wiring error. Perhaps
the PCB is wrong. Perhaps there is an
assembly error. Perhaps the design
is faulty. How do you determine the
problem?
The most important problem to
solve is the design question. Are you
sure the design can work? Very often,
there are points that are not addressed
in the design that are important.
Sometimes, components don't work as
expected. Other times, concepts are
misunderstood. Often, wishful thinking
is at work. The classic example of this
is the, "motor that drives the generator
that drives the motor," perpetual
motion machine. It simply can't work.
The only way to solve this problem is
with education and experience.
Analog and digital simulation can
be helpful here. If it doesn't work on the
simulator, it's not going to work in hard-
ware. (Note — a working simulation in
no way guarantees working hardware.)
Another person could examine your
design and tell you if it can work.
Sometimes, you just have to try it
yourself. There is no shame in learning
by trial and error.
Breaking the Loop
One of the most difficult things to
troubleshoot is a closed loop system.
The problem could be anywhere. You
can't open the loop because feedback
is required for operation. The best
tactic is to stop and think. Brainwork is
hard, but it's the most likely approach
to work. Let's look at an example. A
client asked me to find the problem in
MARCH 2004
InTheTrenches.qxd 2/4/2004 11:43 PM
a high-voltage generator; the output
was not stable. The unit measured the
output voltage and fed it back as an
error signal into an op-amp
regulator circuit. It was easy to find the
noise on the output of the op-amp, but
was the op-amp causing the noise or
was it just amplifying it? What's more,
the noise was so great that it was seen
on the power supply rail. So, was the
power supply noisy or was the circuit
noisy?
The last question was fairly easy to
determine. I cut the power supply trace
to the op-amp and inserted a 100 ohm
resistor. Then, I put parallel 100 µF and
0.1 µF capacitors from the op-amp
power pin to ground. This isolated the
op-amp from the rest of the power sup-
ply. The capacitors filtered out noise.
The result was clean power to the op-
amp, but the noise was still there.
I spent most of the day chasing the
noise around the op-amp circuit. I
filtered here. I filtered there. I filtered
MARCH 2004
Page 87
In The Trenches
the reference. Nothing made a differ-
ence. Finally, I sat down and just
thought — where could the noise be
coming from? The op-amp circuit was
simple. It obviously wasn't coming
from where I was testing. It had to be
coming from somewhere else. The
only other place was the grounded pin
of the op-amp, but it was grounded!
What kind of signal could come from a
ground? I used an ohmmeter to verify
that the pin was, indeed, grounded.
Once this was established, I
hooked up the oscilloscope with the
ground lead to the main power supply
ground and probed the "grounded"
op-amp pin. Surprise! There was noise
at the op-amp that wasn't at the power
supply. This was the source of the
noise. I took a piece of heavy gauge
wire and connected it directly from
the power supply ground to the op-
amp ground pin. The noise went away
and the circuit worked perfectly. This
incident illustrates several important
Circle #80 on the Reader Service Card.
points. If you aren't getting anywhere
with your approach, then your
approach isn't working and it's time to
try something different. Taking a break
and re-thinking the problem can help
with this. Noise can enter the circuit
from any pin — even the ones you
don’t think of as possible. Ground
noise is something you must always be
aware of. It plagues analog and digital
circuits. It comes from improper PCB
layout. (Inexpensive PCB auto-routers
are notorious for this.) Finally, it shows
that you can't believe what your client
says. He had initially denied that there
were any changes. When shown that
the grounding was faulty, he was forced
to admit that, "just a few," traces were
re-routed, "but the circuit wasn't
changed."
Intermittent
Problems
By far, the most likely cause for an
87
InTheTrenches.qxd 2/5/2004 2:55 PM
In The Trenches
intermittent failure is a bad connection.
Cables, sockets, solder joints, and
broken traces are common problems.
Tapping components, flexing the
board, bending cables, and re-heating
solder joints are ways to find problems
like these. With analog circuits, if it's
not a bad connection, it's probably
heat-related. There are a few other
mechanisms for analog circuits which
occasionally fail. Look at the schemat-
ic and find the most likely parts, then
heat them with a heat gun and cool
them with a cooling spray to find the
culprit. Sometimes, multiple parts have
to be heated/cooled for the problem to
be seen. This means you may need a
refrigerator or heat chamber for testing.
With digital circuits, intermittents
are usually caused by timing errors
(when a bad connection is not at fault).
Sometimes, heating and cooling will
make the problem better or worse, but
the fundamental problem is not caused
by temperature. It's an error in the tim-
ing. Heating and cooling only change
the timing slightly. These problems can
be difficult to find because timing is a
relative thing. A clock pulse to a count-
er may look fine, but, if it occurs too
soon after a reset, there may be prob-
lems. You need a good timing diagram
of the circuit. Please don't say you don't
The Standard for checking
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And with a 60 day trial period, satisfaction
guaranteed or money-back policy, the only
NUTS & VOLTS
thing you can lose is all the time you’re
currently spending on trying to repair all
those dogs you’ve given up on.
Everything For Electronics
CapAnalyzer 88A
Available at your distributor, or call 561-487-6103
Electronic Design Specialists
88
Page 88
have one. The timing diagram for a dig-
ital circuit is just as necessary as a
schematic. (Proper attention to set-up
and hold times is absolutely critical for
reliable circuit operation.) If a timing
diagram isn't available, you will proba-
bly have to make one. Yes, this takes a
lot of time, but if a proper diagram was
available during the design stage, then
this problem would probably have been
identified and eliminated at that time.
(Also — let's be practical — you'll prob-
ably need the diagram sometime in the
future, anyway.) Usually, you will actu-
ally save time by stopping and making
the timing diagram for two reasons.
The first is that, by generating the
diagram, you are required to analyze
and understand the circuit. Second, it's
a powerful troubleshooting tool. The
exception to intermittent digital circuits
occurs when software is involved.
Erratic software has an entirely differ-
ent cause. Troubleshooting software is
something that books are written about
— we won't discuss it further, now.
Phantom Power
How many times have you
forgotten to apply power to a circuit
and wondered why it wasn't working?
On several occasions, I have seen
Locate shorted or leaky
components or conditions
to the exact spot in-circuit
Still cutting up the pcb,
and unsoldering every
part trying to guess at
where the short is?
$179
Your DVM shows the same shorted reading all
along the pcb trace. LeakSeeker 82B has the
resolution to find the defective component.
Touch pads along the trace, and LeakSeeker
beeps highest in pitch at the defect’s pad. Now
you can locate a shorted part only a quarter of
an inch away from a good part. Short can be
from 0 to 150 ohms
LeakSeeker 82B
www.eds-inc.com
CMOS ICs apparently working without
power. They even appear to work well!
Here's how this happens. There are
clamping diodes on every input pin to
reduce latch-up and to protect against
over- or under- voltages. These diodes
steer current to the power rails. If the
input is greater than the positive sup-
ply, the current is passed to the power
pin. If the voltage is less than ground, it
is passed to ground. An IC that doesn't
have the power pin connected will have
the power pin driven internally by any
positive signal on the input pins via the
protection diodes. With a typical
capacitor across the power pin to
ground, the power pin can actually get
charged up to a diode drop below the
input signal. With the low current
requirements, that may be enough to
make the IC look like it's operating
properly, but it isn't. The voltage is
reduced by at least a diode drop (0.7
V) at the output. So, if this signal is
used to drive the next layer of logic,
that output will be an additional diode
drop lower. You can see that, after a few
levels of logic, there is no voltage left
to drive anything. In addition, the
operational speed is greatly reduced,
although this may not be apparent at
first glance. In other words, while
it may initially appear to be a cute
trick to power circuits, it really isn't a
practical design approach. It is a
strange thing to troubleshoot, and it's
quite common to see this on new
circuit designs. CMOS 4000 series and
74Cxx series ICs exhibit this effect. I
don't think any other logic families do.
This may carry over to other low-power
CMOS devices, like microprocessors
and other specialized ICs. They all have
clamping diodes, as well.
Conclusion
Troubleshooting is different
depending on whether the product is
new or in need of repair or re-design-
ing. The best tool is between your ears.
If you understand the product well, you
will be able to troubleshoot it well.
Experience is also helpful. Hopefully,
some of these examples and
approaches will be useful. NV
MARCH 2004
Stamp.qxd 2/5/2004 12:14 PM Page 89
by Jon Williams
Putting the Spotlight on BASIC Stamp Projects, Hints, and Tips
Stamp Applications
Measure High, Measure Low
The unappreciated lookup table
swings into action this month!
I
'm pretty sure I've made this confession before, but if I
haven't, here goes: I'm a bit of nut when it comes to
temperature. Let's just say that I have an exceptional
temperature curiosity. I have thermometers of one sort or
another spread from one end of my home to the other and
I seem to be checking them constantly. I even found a use-
ful little atomic travel clock with a thermometer built in; I
can keep track of the exact time when I travel and monitor
the environment at the same time — I like that.
In science and industry, one of the most popular meth-
ods of measuring temperature is with a thermocouple.
They're inexpensive and fairly accurate. They're easy to
use, but the process of using them properly is not neces-
sarily very simple. Let's back up a bit ... a thermocouple is
constructed by joining two dissimilar metal wires at one
end (see Figure 1). A voltage will be developed between
the joined and open end that is proportional to the temper-
ature difference between the two ends. This is called the
Seebeck voltage, named after Thomas Seebeck, who dis-
covered the affect in 1821.
The trick is that Seebeck voltage is very small — on the
order of fractional to low millivolts — so we just can't pull
out our trusty DMM and measure it. Another point
for consideration is establishing a reference at what is
called the "cold junction" (the point where we measure the
Seebeck voltage). This connection is called the cold junc-
tion because, prior to electronic compensation, this con-
nection point was placed in an ice bath to keep it
at (or very near) 0°C. If you look at a standard thermocou-
ple table, you'll see that the reference junction is specified
at 0° C.
Lucky for us, technology is on our side. Dallas
Semiconductor makes a neat little chip called the DS2760,
which was actually designed for monitoring Lithium-ion
batteries, but works very nicely as a thermocouple inter-
face. To the best of my knowledge, the use of the DS2760
as a thermocouple interface was originally presented by
Dan Awtry of Dallas Semiconductor. What we're going to
MARCH 2004
Stamp
do this month is create a program for the BS2pe (or
BS2p) that will talk to the DS2760 and display the ther-
mocouple temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit.
Temperature on a Wire
As you can see in Figure 2, the DS2760 is a one-chip
solution for thermocouple interfacing. The BS2p/BS2pe
makes talking to a 1-Wire device a snap; the rest is just
assembling the code. Here's the plan:
• Measure the cold junction temperature (this comes from
inside the DS2760).
• Measure the Seebeck voltage.
• Find the thermocouple voltage that corresponds to the
cold junction temperature.
• Adjust the Seebeck voltage based on the cold junction
temperature.
• Look up the compensated temperature and display on
the LCD.
Alright ... you know the drill: We've planned our work,
now let's work our plan.
Let's start at the top and make sure that we actually
have the DS2760 connected. Note that this program is
designed for just one sensor — it can be modified for
multiple units, but that's beyond the scope of what we're
going to do here. (You could, for example, include tables
for various thermocouple types and select the type — you
can download an example from Parallax.) After checking
to make sure that we're connected to a BS2p or BS2pe
Figure 1. Thermocouple connections.
89
Stamp.qxd 2/5/2004 12:14 PM Page 90
Stamp
Figure 2. DS2760 thermocouple interface schematic.
(required for 1-Wire communications), we initialize the
2x8 LCD and then retrieve the serial number from the
1-Wire device connected to P8.
Check_Device:
OWOUT OW, %0001, [ReadNet]
OWIN OW, %0010, [SPSTR 8]
GET 0, char
IF (char <> $30) THEN
LCDOUT E, LcdCls, ["NO"]
LCDOUT E, LcdLine2, [" DS2760"]
STOP
ENDIF
We'll send the ReadNet ($33) command to the
DS2760 using OWOUT, specifying a front-end reset
(perform the reset process before sending data). ReadNet
instructs the connected 1-Wire device to transmit its
eight-byte serial number.
Since we're not going to put the whole thing to use —
but may want to display it later — we'll buffer it into the
Scratchpad RAM using the SPSTR directive with OWIN.
The first byte of the serial number string will be the device
type; for the DS2760, this is $30. If that byte isn't $30, the
program will put a message on the LCD and stop the
program.
The reason we don't use END above — where STOP
appears — is that END puts the Stamp into low-power
mode. The Stamp's watchdog timer will interrupt the
NUTS & VOLTS
low-power mode every 18 milliseconds, causing the pins
to "glitch" (this is a known behavior). What I saw happen
in testing is that the glitch on the LCD's E pin caused the
Everything For Electronics
display to be blanked, obliterating the message. STOP
halts the program without placing the Stamp in
low-power mode, so the I/O pins remain in their current
state without interruption.
90
Unless there's a problem, we shouldn't get the "NO
DS2760" message and we'll move right into the main loop
that measures temperature using the process described
earlier. The first step is to measure the cold junction
temperature. This comes from inside the DS2760.
The temperature is read from registers $18 and $19.
This value is 11 bits (10 bits plus sign) and, interestingly,
Bit10 (sign) is left-aligned with the MSB (Bit15) of our
variable tmpCJ. Let's look at the code and then go
through it.
Read_CJ_Temp:
OWOUT OW, %0001, [SkipNet, $69, $18]
OWIN OW, %0010, [tmpCJ.BYTE1, tmpCJ.BYTE0]
IF (tmpCJ.BIT15) THEN
tmpCJ = 0
error = 1
ELSE
tmpCJ = tmpCJ.HIGHBYTE
error = 0
ENDIF
RETURN
To retrieve the temperature, we send the SkipNet
($CC) command (Only one device is connected, so no
serial number is required.), followed by $69 (read), and
then the register. Since 1-Wire devices work with bytes,
our OWIN instruction breaks the tmpCJ variable into
bytes using internal PBASIC aliases: BYTE1 (high byte)
and BYTE0 (low byte).
Remember that the temperature is left-aligned within
tmpCJ, so the sign is currently sitting in Bit15. If this bit is
one, the temperature is negative. To keep things simple,
we will disallow negative cold junction temperatures (In
theory, it should be 0° C, not lower.) and set tmpCJ to
zero and the error flag to one.
When the temperature is — as it will be in most cases
— positive, we can convert the raw value into degrees by
taking the high byte of the raw temperature. Yes, I know
what you're thinking: "Huh?" Okay, here goes ... The raw
value needs to be right shifted by five bits to correct the
alignment.
Okay, that's easy. Then, we have to multiply by
0.125 to get whole degrees. As it turns out, 0.125 is a
convenient fractional value because multiplying by 0.125
is the same as dividing by eight. And, as luck would have
it, dividing by eight is the same thing as a right shift by
three bits. So, in total, we have a right shift of eight bits,
which means that our whole degrees result is simply the
high byte of the raw temperature value.
Let me interrupt this broadcast for a minute and talk
about those "convenient fractional values." While the
Stamp has operators (*/ and **) that can help with frac-
tions, there are times when we don't need to take that
route. In this case, for example, we could have used the */
operator with $40 to multiply by 0.125, but it's simpler to
divide by eight. Now I admit, 0.125 is a common value
and easy to recognize, but what about a value like
MARCH 2004
Stamp.qxd 2/5/2004 12:15 PM Page 91

Stamp

0.0769? Here's a tip: When in doubt about a fraction that
is less than one, enter it into your scientific calculator and
then press the reciprocal [1/x] key. If the value is a whole
number (or very very close) — cha-ching! — divide by the
whole number. If that value happens to be an even power
of two (2, 4, 8, 16, 32 ... ), then we can use the shift oper-
ator instead of dividing, since it's faster. Okay, back
to work. The next step is measuring the Seebeck voltage
from the thermocouple. The process is identical to
measuring temperature.
Read_TC_Volts:
OWOUT OW, %0001, [SkipNet, $69, $0E]
OWIN OW, %0010, [tCuV.BYTE1, tCuV.BYTE0]
signTC = tCuV.BIT15
tCuV = tCuV >> 3
IF signTC THEN
tCuV = tCuV | $F000
ENDIF
tCuV = ABS tCuV */ 4000
RETURN
Turning the Tables on Tough
Math
A key element of this program is the use of large tables
to hold the thermocouple data. The reason we use a table
is that the thermocouple output voltage versus tempera-
ture is not linear and, in fact, would require a multi-order
equation to maintain accuracy. One of my favorite features
of the BS2p family is the ability to use READ and WRITE
across program slots. This lets us put our code in slot zero
and our table(s) in slots one and higher. The STORE
instruction is used to select a table.
To compensate for a cold junction value above 0° C,
we'll determine the voltage that would be generated by that
temperature for our thermocouple. This is simple; we point
at our table with STORE and then calculate the address
within the table by multiplying our cold temperature value
by two. This is necessary, since we are using words (two
bytes) to store the thermocouple output voltages.

The voltage is stored as a 13 bit (12 bits plus sign) STORE PosTable
READ (tmpCJ * 2), Word cjComp
value in the current registers ($0E and $0F) of the
DS2760. The reason it's in the current register is that the
DS2760 uses a shunt to convert a current to voltage for Notice that we're taking advantage of a new PBASIC
reading. In our application, we're using the external sense 2.5 feature: using the Word modifier with READ. The only
resistor version of the DS2760, which lets us measure a caveat is that data must be stored in the table as low-byte,
voltage with a resolution of 15.625 microvolts per bit. After high-byte. This is not a problem for us, as we're creating
retrieving the voltage into the variable tCuV, we save the the table using the Word modifier. At this point, cjComp
sign by making a copy of Bit 15. holds the cold junction compensation voltage for
As with the temperature, the voltage is going to be our thermocouple. Now, it's time to combine the compen-
left-aligned when in our word variable and the sign bit is the sation voltage with the Seebeck voltage. After we've done
MSB. that, we can do a reverse lookup in the table to determine
After the sign is saved, we correct the bit alignment in the thermocouple temperature.
tCuV by shifting right three bits. Now,
if the sign bit is one, that means the
voltage is negative and the value in
tCuV is represented in two's-compli-
ment format. Keep in mind that the
shift process pads the opposite end
with zeros (the high-end bits, in this
case), so we need to put ones in those
positions to make the two's-compli-
ment value of tCuV correct.
This will let the ABS function
return the right value. The final step is
to multiply by 15.625 to get micro-
volts. As the factor is fractional and
greater than one, we'll use the star-
slash (*/) operator. The parameter
for star-slash is calculated by multiply-
ing 15.625 and 256.
Okay, we have the cold junction
temperature and the Seebeck volt-
age; now, it's time to do a bit of math
and determine the actual thermocou-
ple temperature.
MARCH 2004 Circle #79 on the Reader Service Card.
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Stamp

approach — the easiest — is to start at the bottom of the

IF (signTC = 0) THEN table and scan upward until we find a match or exceed
' TC is above cold junction
cjComp = cjComp + tCuV
our search value. The trouble with this method is that it
STORE PosTable can take a very long time to find a value that is in the high
tblHi = 1023 end of the table.
signC = 0 Searching large tables is nothing new and we can
ELSE borrow from computer science solutions. When the table
' TC is below cold junction
IF (tCuV <= cjComp) THEN is ordered, we can use what is called a binary search. This
cjComp = cjComp - tCuV is a divide-and-conquer approach to searching a table (or
STORE PosTable array).
tblHi = 1023 To do a binary search, we'll need three pointers: the
signC = 0
ELSE low end, high end, and midpoint of the search. We find the
cjComp = tCuV - cjComp midpoint by adding low and high together, then dividing
STORE NegTable by two. Then, we'll check the value at the midpoint
tblHi = 270 against our search value (cjComp). If we find a match, we
signC = 1
ENDIF jump right out of the search. If the midpoint value is not
ENDIF a match, we will compare it against the search value.
When the search value is lower than the midpoint value,
A bit of logic is used to do the combining for a we'll reset the high end of the table search to the
couple of reasons. The first is that we've simplified other midpoint.
aspects of the code by maintaining a separate sign bit If the search value is higher than the midpoint table
from the Seebeck voltage. The second reason is that we value, we'll reset the low end of the search to the mid-
actually have two tables: one for positive temperatures point. As you can see, we get rid of half of the
(up to 1023° C), one for negatives (down to -270° C). available search values with every iteration of the search
Things are easiest when the Seebeck voltage is loop. This makes the binary search very fast and lets us
positive. In this case, we simply add the compensation find any value within 10 loop iterations.
voltage to the thermocouple voltage and point to the
positives table. We'll set the upper end of our table TC_Lookup:
tblLo = 0
search to 1023 (this is the last Word in the table) and
tempC = 22
set the sign bit for Celsius degrees to 0, since we know
it's positive. READ (tblHi * 2), Word testVal
When the Seebeck voltage sign is one (voltage is IF (cjComp > testVal) THEN
negative), this indicates that the temperature is lower than error = 1
ELSE
the cold junction temperature, but we don't know if it is DO
below 0° C, so we need to apply a bit of additional logic. eePntr = (tblLo + tblHi) / 2
If the Seebeck (absolute value) voltage is less than or READ (eePntr * 2), Word testVal
equal to the compensation voltage, we can subtract it
IF (cjComp = testVal) THEN
from the compensation voltage and point to the positive EXIT
tables, as before. When the Seebeck voltage is greater ELSEIF (cjComp < testVal) THEN
than the compensation voltage, this means that the tblHi = eePntr
thermocouple temperature is below 0° C. We calculate ELSE
tblLo = eePntr
the compensated voltage by subtracting the original ENDIF
compensation voltage from the Seebeck value, then
pointing to the negatives table. IF ((tblHi - tblLo) < 2) THEN
Notice that the high end of the search for the eePntr = tblLo
EXIT
negatives table is only 270. The reason for this, of course, ENDIF
is that absolute zero is -270° C. Since the temperature is LOOP
negative, we will set the Celsius sign bit accordingly. tempC = eePntr
NUTS & VOLTS

ENDIF
RETURN
Where in the Table is My Value?
Everything For Electronics

With the compensated voltage (cjComp) in hand,
all we have to do now is find that value — or its closest
match — in the table; that position will be our actual
thermocouple temperature. Okay, how do we find it? One
92
Our code is actually modified a bit from the
traditional binary search. In typical applications, the
search will report the position or “not found”. We want the
closest position if the actual value is not in the table. This
MARCH 2004
Stamp.qxd 2/5/2004 12:15 PM Page 93
Figure 3. Don't touch ... the stove is hot! Figure 4. Dry ice is really cold!
is accomplished by monitoring the span between the high
and low pointers. When it falls to one or zero, we've
searched the whole table and we will use the low pointer
as our search result.
Now that we have the correct Celsius temperature, we
can convert to Fahrenheit and send the values to an LCD.
Display_Temps:
IF (tempC = 0) THEN
signC = 0
ENDIF
tempF = tempC * 9 / 5
IF (signC) THEN
tempF = 32 - tempF
ELSE
tempF = tempF + 32
ENDIF
signF = tempF.BIT15
tempF = ABS tempF
LOOKDOWN tempC, >= [1000, 100, 10, 0], idx
LCDOUT E, LcdLine1, [223, "C ", REP " "\idx,
signC * 13 + 32, DEC tempC]
LOOKDOWN tempF, >= [1000, 100, 10, 0], idx
LCDOUT E, LcdLine2, [223, "F ", REP " "\idx,
signF * 13 + 32, DEC tempF]
Before we do the conversion, we’ll fix the sign bit
for Celsius, if required. There may be times when the
temperature is just a hair below zero and the sign bit will
get set. It's an easy fix.
There's no magic in converting from Celsius to
Fahrenheit; we use the formula F = C x 9 / 5 + 32. As our
program uses absolute values with a separate sign bit, an
IF-THEN structure will take care of the "+ 32" part of the
equation. This actually points to another reason for using
absolute values: The divide operator (required in
the Fahrenheit conversion) cannot be used with two's-
compliment (negative) values.
To keep things on the LCD neat, I use Tracy Allen's
right justification trick with REP (repeat) modifier for
serial output instructions (SEROUT, I2COUT,
OWOUT, and LCDOUT — even though it uses a parallel
buss). A LOOKDOWN table is used to determine the
MARCH 2004
Stamp
Figure 5. And torches get really hot!
width of our value and the width is then used to pad the
display with spaces ahead of the printed value. The sign
bit is used with a bit of math to print a space for positive
values and a hyphen for negatives. The DEC modifier
finishes the process.
Temperature Hunting
As you can see in the photos, I assembled my test
unit on a standard BOE. By using a nine-volt battery, I
was able to roam around and test temperatures. My first
spot of interest was the hot water coming out of the tap
in my hotel room; I was visiting the California office
when I wrote this. How hot was it? A whopping 140° F!
That's hot. However, I had access to hotter things, like
that burner on the stove — over 800° F.
What about measuring cold temperatures? I picked
up some dry ice at the supermarket and measured it at
around minus 100° F. Wow, that is cold. Please ... before
you go off on your own temperature hunting expeditions,
be aware that you can be burned by extreme heat or
extreme cold (like dry ice). I had a friend take the photos
for me so that I could focus on not getting too close to the
"danger zone" with my hands. Even if your thing isn't
thermocouples or temperature measuring, I do hope that
you found the use of tables interesting. After finishing this
project, I thought of a couple other projects that could be
simplified with a table; I would also get better resolution
with a table than I would using integer math. You can use
your favorite PC programming language to calculate val-
ues and output your table as text that can be copied into
the Stamp editor. I'm currently experimenting with a very
interesting multi-platform language called Python. Check
it out — you might find it interesting and useful too.
Until next time, Happy Stamping. NV
Resources
Jon Williams
jwilliams@parallax.com
Parallax, Inc.
www.parallax.com
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Tech Forum.qxd 2/5/2004 1:28 PM Page 94

Tech Forum

Tech Forum
QUESTIONS
My local middle school is using
an old scoreboard system in the gym
for basketball games. It worked great,
but it used a mechanical timer for
time outs, which would ring a bell on
the console. Now, the mechanical
timer no longer works and I would like
to replace it with an electronic timer
that can trigger a relay to activate the
scoreboard buzzer. The timer will
need to have two timed selections —
30 and 60 seconds — and only needs
to activate the buzzer for two seconds.
#3041 Rick
via Internet
I need a charger circuit for a 6 V
4.5 Ah gel cell. I understand that
This is a READER-TO-READER Column. All
questions AND answers will be provided by
Nuts & Volts readers and are intended to
promote the exchange of ideas and provide
assistance for solving problems of a technical
nature. All questions submitted are subject to
editing and will be published on a space
available basis if deemed suitable to the
publisher. All answers are submitted by readers
and NO GUARANTEES WHATSOEVER are
made by the publisher. The implementation of
any answer printed in this column may require
varying degrees of technical experience and
should only be attempted by qualified
individuals. Always use common sense and
good judgement!
Send all material to Nuts & Volts Magazine, 430
Princeland Court, Corona, CA 92879, OR fax
to (909) 371-3052, OR email to
forum@nutsvolts.com
ANSWER INFO
• Include the question number that appears
directly below the question you are responding
to.
NUTS & VOLTS
these batteries should be charged
from a constant voltage source until
the battery voltage reaches 7.2 to
7.35 volts, with the current not to
exceed 900 mA.
#3042 Jay Harford
via Internet
FM radio reception is usually
poor inside office buildings, as steel in
the roof and walls blocks much of the
signal. Is there a way around this?
Could you put an antenna outside
and run a cable to another antenna
inside, maybe with a broadband
booster amplifier?
#3043 Kent Durvin
via Internet
If I isolate the two prongs of a
stun gun, can I use it as a zapper to
indicate to that effect.
• Comments regarding answers printed in this
column may be printed in the Reader
Feedback section if space allows.
QUESTION INFO
To be considered
All questions should relate to one or more of
the following:
1) Circuit Design
2) Electronic Theory
3) Problem Solving
4) Other Similar Topics
Information/Restrictions
• No questions will be accepted that offer
equipment for sale or equipment wanted to
buy.
• Selected questions will be printed one time
on a space available basis.
• Questions may be subject to editing.
Helpful Hints
• Be brief but include all pertinent information.
If no one knows what you’re asking, you won’t
get any response (and we probably won’t print
erase the "memory effect" of NiCad
batteries? If not, does anyone have a
schematic for a zapper that will work?
#3044 Anonymous
via Internet
I need a diagram to build a simple
amp hour meter to drive an
electromechanical counter. I have an
AD645 analog to digital converter,
the power supply, the counter, etc.,
but the circuit I put together does not
work. Perhaps a fresh diagram will
help me dope it out.
#3045 Jim Buckwalter
Visalia, CA
Does anyone have a simple
circuit that uses an IR sensor to
trigger a camera? I'd like to snap
pictures of the nocturnal visitors in
the backyard of my country home.
#3046 Dan Gorkiewicz
via Internet
Does anyone have a simple
circuit that can be used to count the
number of times a bird goes in and
out of a birdhouse? I teach science to
students in Michigan and I think this
would help spark their interest.
#3047 Dan Gorkiewicz
via Internet
In the 2” x 4” framing of an outer
wall of my home, I would like to install
a cat door that can move up and
down. I envision a motorized rack and
pinion assembly. I know of a pressure
sensor that would control the
operating circuit, but I need some
sources for electric motorized rack
and pinion assemblies.
#3048 Michael K. Lenihan
via Internet
(Cat guillotine? — Editor Dan)
Does anyone have any
suggestions as to electronic
schematic development software
vendors with up-to-date and extensive

symbol libraries for documenting

• Payment of $25.00 will be sent if your answer it either). electronic projects?
is printed. Be sure to include your mailing • Write legibly (or type). If we can’t read it, we’ll #3049 George Harayda
address if responding by email or we can not throw it away.
via Internet
Everything For Electronics

send payment. • Include your Name, Address, Phone Number,

• Your name, city, and state, will be printed in
the magazine, unless you notify us otherwise. If
you want your email address printed also,
94
and Email. Only your name, city, and state will
be published with the question, but we may
need to contact you.
What is the best place on the web
to access IC data sheets? For
example, if you input 555, you get to
MARCH 2004
Tech Forum.qxd 2/5/2004 1:28 PM Page 95

Tech Forum

look at the pinouts of a device.
#30410 Sassan Smarghandi
via Internet
I have a Drake 2 A
communications receiver and would
like to replace the obsolete vacuum
tubes (6BE6, 6BA6, etc.) with solid
state devices (FETs, etc.). I would
appreciate any advice or schematics
that anyone can provide.
#30411 Richard Harris
Winamac, IN
ANSWERS
[1046 — January 2004]
I was in a shop and observed a
desk clerk verify that the stone in a
diamond ring was genuine. He
used a probe device that became
warm at the tip. It was placed
against the stone in question and a
red or green LED illuminated to
indicate authenticity.
Electronic diamond testers work
by measuring the loss of heat from a
metallic probe. Diamonds are
excellent conductors of heat and will
draw the heat from the probe faster
than simulated stones.
In recent years, moissanite —
which is extremely rare in nature —
has been synthesized in laboratories
and its thermal conductivity
approaches that of diamond, so the
thermal test is not sufficient to
identify a true diamond and an
additional reflectivity test needs to be
performed to distinguish between the
two.
Diamonds have the highest
thermal conductivity of any naturally
occurring material. In fact, a diamond
conducts heat so rapidly that it can
be plunged red hot into liquid
nitrogen without being harmed,
whereas most non-metallic minerals
would shatter (hence the popularity
of diamond tipped tools). It is also
exceptional in resisting electricity
(think heatsink).
Depending upon the levels and
nature of impurities found in
diamonds, they are either extremely
good electrical insulators or could
have lower resistances and, in some
cases, (Type IIb stones) even act as
P-type semiconductors!
Diamonds are photoconductive,
retaining their high resistivity only in
the dark or in light with no UV
content. Type IIb stones are even
photoconductive to gamma rays (like
a Geiger tube).
If DC voltage is applied across a
Type IIb stone, at first the current will
be small — perhaps a few milliamps.
After a few minutes, it will rise to
several amperes and the stone will
become red hot and eventually
vaporize if the current is not cut off.
This does not seem to occur if AC is
used; instead, the diamond
scintillates with blue light!
Rahul Karnik
via Internet
[1043 — January 2004]
How can I burn old and

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MARCH 2004 Circle #34 on the Reader Service Card.

95
Tech Forum.qxd 2/5/2004 1:29 PM Page 96
Tech Forum
obsolete tapes and records onto
CDs? I have a CD-R/W drive, but I
can't figure out how to input from
an outside-the-computer source.
You'll need a sound card with an
external audio input jack (most cards
have an "aux" jack), cables to
connect to the sound card, (tape
deck output, turntable/preamp
output, etc.), and suitable software.
The signal level output by most
turntables is very low and needs to be
amplified before going to the sound
card, while the line-out from most
tape decks can go directly to the
sound card's input jack.
I personally use and recommend
"Audio Cleaning Lab," by Magix. It
does everything from recording with
automatic track detection and
placement, sound cleaning (click and
hiss removal), sound enhancement
(equalizer, stereo FX, etc.), to burning
a CD. Visit www.magix.com to see
everything this great program can do.
Besides converting your old LPs and
NUTS & VOLTS
Everything For Electronics
96
tapes into CDs, you can even make a
little extra money providing a media
conversion service to those unable to
find CDs of their favorite oldies.
John McMichael
Laramie,WY
[10414 — January 2004]
I have an old TRS-80. When I
loaned it out, someone overwrote
the master disk. I’m looking for a
replacement and will pay for a
download, disk, or any fix.
The TRS-80 computer might be
old, but a number of working
machines are still being used on a
daily basis. Stan Slater and Ron Gatlin
are the publishers and editors of
Computer News 80, which is
published bi-monthly and supports
the TRS-80 series of computers. They
can provide disk operating systems,
software and hardware, primarily for
the Model III and IV.
Stan and Ron can be contacted at
Computer News, PO Box 50127,
Casper, WY 82605-0127 or
compnew@trib.com
John Hemminger
Brookfield, MO
[1049 — January 2004]
I salvaged some lithium-ion
rechargeable batteries and need to
build a charger for them. They are
3.6 V, 1200 mAh in size. Can I use
my NiMH battery charger?
Lithium-ion batteries need a
special charger to recharge them.
Trying to use a NiCD or NiMH charger
will either ruin the battery, cause a
fire, or do nothing (if the protective
circuitry works).
Go to Maxim's website
(www.maxim-ic.com) to learn more
about Li-ion battery charge circuitry.
Search on their website for "battery
management," there is a lot of
information about the chips they
make for battery charging.
Robert Zusman
Scottsdale, AZ
MARCH 2004
IndexMar04.qxd 2/6/2004 10:21 AM Page 97

Abacom Technologies ............34
ActiveWire, Inc. .......................68
Akida LLC ...............................67
All Electronics Corp. ...............37
Amazon Electronics ................68
AM Research, Inc. ..................68
Atomic Time.............................41
Autotime Corp. ........................67
Autotrax EDA ..........................19
Basic Micro, Inc. .......................18
Bellin Dynamic Systems, Inc. ....67
C & S Sales, Inc. ....................55
Carl’s Electronics, Inc. ............67
Catexa .....................................67
Circuit Specialists, Inc. ......98-99
Cleveland Institute of Electronics ...23
Command Productions ...........45
Conitec DataSystems .............12
Cunard Associates .................67
Earth Computer Technologies ...35
eBay ...........................................5
Electronic Design Specialists....88
Electronix Express...................11
EMAC, Inc. .............................49
Eptsoft Limited ........................12
ExpressPCB ...........................61
Front Panel Express LLC ........91
Halted Specialties Co. ..............3
Hobby Engineering ..................32
Information Unlimited ..............74
Intronics, Inc. ..........................68
IVEX .......................................22
Advertiser’s Index
Jameco.....................................13
Kronos Robotics & Electronics ...83
LabJack ...................................86
Lakeview Research .................68
Lemos International Co., Inc. ....35
Linx Technologies .............43, 66
Lynxmotion, Inc. ...............50, 68
M2L Electronics ......................67
Matco, Inc. ..............................69
Maxstream ..............................85
microEngineering Labs............39
Microtech Source, Inc. ............67
MVS ........................................47
Net Media ............................2, 87
New Micros, Inc. ......................33
O-Navi LLC..............................69
PAiA Electronics ......................68
Parallax, Inc. ........... Back Cover
PCBexpress ............................34
PCB Fab Express ...................47
PCBPro ...................................95
Pico Technology Ltd. UK ...........9
Pioneer Hill Software ...............49
Protek ......................................44
Pulsar, Inc. ..............................68
QKITS......................................67
Ramsey Electronics, Inc. ...24-25
Resources Un-Ltd. ..................48
Robodyssey Systems .............67
Rogers Systems Specialist......29
Rogue Robotics .......................68
Saelig Company ......................54
SchmartBOARD .....................68
Scott Edwards Electronics, Inc. ...95
SGC ..........................................7
Simulation Technology Corp. ..21
Solutions Cubed .....................53
Square 1 Electronics ..............10
Supercircuits............................15
Surplus Sales of Nebraska .....27
Syspec, Inc. ............................67
Technological Arts ..................65
Trace Systems, Inc. ................28
Trilogy Design .........................86
UltraDense...............................67
V&V Machinery & Equipment, Inc. ..69

AMATEUR RADIO & TV
Atomic Time ................................................................41
Linx Technologies .................................................43, 66
Ramsey Electronics, Inc. .......................................24-25
SGC ..............................................................................7
Supercircuits ...............................................................15
Surplus Sales of Nebraska ..........................................27
BATTERIES/CHARGERS
Cunard Associates ......................................................67
BUYING ELECTRONIC
SURPLUS
Earth Computer Technologies......................................35
Rogers Systems Specialist .........................................29
CCD CAMERAS/VIDEO
Autotime Corp. ............................................................67
Circuit Specialists, Inc. ...........................................98-99
Matco, Inc. ...................................................................69
Ramsey Electronics, Inc. ......................................24-25
Resources Un-Ltd. ......................................................48
Supercircuits ...............................................................15
CIRCUIT BOARDS
Autotrax EDA ..............................................................19
Cunard Associates ......................................................67
ExpressPCB ................................................................61
IVEX ............................................................................22
Maxstream ..................................................................85
PCBexpress ................................................................34
PCB Fab Express ........................................................47
PCBPro .......................................................................95
Pulsar, Inc. ..................................................................68
Saelig Company ..........................................................54
SchmartBOARD ..........................................................68
V&V Machinery & Equipment, Inc. ..............................69
COMPONENTS
Bellin Dynamic Systems, Inc........................................67
Catexa..........................................................................67
Electronix Express .......................................................11
Front Panel Express LLC .............................................91
Jameco ........................................................................13
Lemos International Co., Inc. ......................................35
Linx Technologies .................................................43, 66
Maxstream ..................................................................85
Microtech Source, Inc. ................................................67
PCBexpress .................................................................34
PCB Fab Express ........................................................47
Pulsar, Inc. ..................................................................68
Solutions Cubed ..........................................................53
COMPUTER
Akida LLC.....................................................................67
Amazon Electronics .....................................................68
AM Research, Inc. .......................................................68
Basic Micro, Inc. ..........................................................18
Conitec DataSystems...................................................12
EMAC, Inc. ..................................................................49
microEngineering Labs ...............................................39
MVS .............................................................................47
Net Media.................................................................2, 87
New Micros, Inc. ..........................................................33
Parallax, Inc. ............................................... Back Cover
Scott Edwards Electronics, Inc. ...................................95
Square 1 Electronics ...................................................10
Technological Arts .......................................................65
Trace Systems, Inc. ....................................................28
UltraDense ..................................................................67
DESIGN/ENGINEERING/
REPAIR SERVICES
ExpressPCB ................................................................61
Front Panel Express LLC ............................................91
Pulsar, Inc. ..................................................................68
Solutions Cubed ..........................................................53
Trace Systems, Inc. ....................................................28
V&V Machinery & Equipment, Inc. ..............................69
EDUCATION
Cleveland Institute of Electronics ................................23
Command Productions ................................................45
EMAC, Inc. ..................................................................49
Eptsoft Limited ............................................................12
Hobby Engineering ......................................................32
PCB Fab Express ........................................................47
Protek ..........................................................................44
Simulation Technology Corp. ......................................21
Syspec, Inc. .................................................................67
KITS
Amazon Electronics .....................................................68
Autotime Corp. .............................................................67
C & S Sales, Inc. .........................................................55
Carl’s Electronics, Inc. .................................................67
Earth Computer Technologies ....................................35
EMAC, Inc. ..................................................................49
Hobby Engineering ......................................................32
Information Unlimited ..................................................74
PAiA Electronics...........................................................68
QKITS .........................................................................67
Ramsey Electronics, Inc. .......................................24-25
SchmartBOARD ..........................................................68
Scott Edwards Electronics, Inc. ...................................95
LASERS
Information Unlimited ..................................................74
Resources Un-Ltd. ......................................................48
PUBLICATIONS
Lakeview Research .....................................................68
Square 1 Electronics ...................................................10
RF TRANSMITTERS/
RECEIVERS
Abacom Technologies .................................................34
Linx Technologies .................................................43, 66
Matco, Inc. ...................................................................69
ROBOTICS
Akida LLC.....................................................................67
Hobby Engineering ......................................................32
Kronos Robotics & Electronics ....................................83
LabJack .........................................................................86
Lemos International Co., Inc. ........................................35
Lynxmotion, Inc. ......................................................50, 68
Net Media ..................................................................2, 87
New Micros, Inc. ............................................................33
O-Navi LLC ...................................................................69
Robodyssey Systems ....................................................67
Rogue Robotics ...........................................................68
Simulation Technology Corp. ......................................21
Solutions Cubed.............................................................53
SATELLITE
Lemos International Co., Inc. .........................................35
SECURITY
Information Unlimited ..................................................74
Linx Technologies .................................................43, 66
Matco, Inc. ...................................................................69
Supercircuits ...............................................................15
STEPPER MOTORS
Jameco ..........................................................................13
TEST EQUIPMENT
Bellin Dynamic Systems, Inc..........................................67
C & S Sales, Inc. ...........................................................55
Circuit Specialists, Inc. .............................................98-99
Conitec DataSystems ....................................................12
eBay.................................................................................5
Electronic Design Specialists.........................................88
Intronics, Inc. .................................................................68
LabJack .........................................................................86
Pico Technology Ltd. UK................................................9
Pioneer Hill Software ....................................................49
Protek ..........................................................................44

Hardware
ActiveWire, Inc. ...........................................................68
Autotime Corp. ............................................................67
Catexa..........................................................................67
Earth Computer Technologies ....................................35
Halted Specialties Co. ...................................................3
Rogers Systems Specialist .........................................29
Surplus Sales of Nebraska...........................................27
MISC./SURPLUS
All Electronics Corp. ....................................................37
Front Panel Express LLC .............................................91
Halted Specialties Co. ...................................................3
Microtech Source, Inc. ................................................67
Resources Un-Ltd. ......................................................48
Surplus Sales of Nebraska ..........................................27
Saelig Company ..........................................................54
Syspec, Inc. .................................................................67
Trace Systems, Inc. ....................................................28
TOOLS
C & S Sales, Inc. .........................................................55
Protek ..........................................................................44

Software
Catexa..........................................................................67
Eptsoft Limited ............................................................12
IVEX ............................................................................22
Pioneer Hill Software ...................................................49
Trilogy Design .............................................................86
Microcontrollers / I/O Boards
Abacom Technologies..................................................34
PROGRAMMERS
Amazon Electronics .....................................................68
Basic Micro, Inc. ..........................................................18
Conitec DataSystems...................................................12
Intronics, Inc. .................................................................68
M2L Electronics ............................................................67
microEngineering Labs .................................................39
WIRE/CABLE
& CONNECTORS
Jameco ........................................................................13
Linx Technologies .................................................43, 66
Microtech Source, Inc. ................................................67
Rogers Systems Specialist .........................................29

MARCH 2004 97
Full Page.qxd 2/3/2004 10:49 PM Page 98

C i rcuitSpecialists.com C i rcuitSpecialists.com C i rcuitSpecialists.com

ESD Safe Thru-Hole Digital Laser Tachometer

‘Next Generation’ Digital Multimeter Soldering/Desoldering *5 digit, 6” LCD Display
Well equipped DMM with True RMS, 3- Repairing System *2.5-99,999 RPM
3/4 Digits, RS-232C Interface, 4000 Item# CSI701 test range
*Auto-Ranging
$49.00!
Count, Auto-Ranging, Analog Bargraph *2” to 80” test range
10MHz Freq. Counter & much more ! *memory function Item#
Item# PROTEK506 $149 Details at Web Site DT-6234C
Only > Test Equipment > Specialty Test Equipment
Details at Web Site Sale $99.00 ! $199.00!
> Test Equipment > Digital Multimeters/World Beater Prices High precision thermostatically
controlled station w/ 35W Iron Triple Output Bench Power Supply
SchmartBoard Combo Pack & desolder gun. Built-in double with Large LCD Displays
cylinder vacuum pump. Output: 0-30VDC x 2 @ 3 AMPS
Item# 900-0001-01 $49.95 & 1ea. fixed output @ 5VDC@3A
Details at Web Site
Pre-traced printed circuit boards > Soldering Equipment & Supplies Source Effect: 5x10-4=2mV
that are connectable like build- Load Effect: 5x10-4=2mV
ing blocks. They allow one to > Rework Stations Ripple Coefficient:: <250uV
build electronic circuits on a Stepped Current: 30mA +/- 1mA
SchmartBoard block by block, www.Cir cuitSpecialists.com Input Voltage: 110VAC
and then connect the blocks CSI3003X3..$179.00
together to form a functional *Easy to Navigate (qty 5+..$169.00) Details at Web Site
board. Contains 26 parts. *Includes a Search Engine That > Test Equipment > Power Supplies
Details at Web Site Really Works
> Breadboards & Prototyping Boards *New Items Added Constantly Item# CSI825A++
FANTASTIC
Circuit Specialists Soldering Station VALUE!!
w/Ceramic Element & Best Buy MicroProcessor
Seperate Solder Stand $34.95! Controlled !

*Ceramic heating element for more accurate Includes 4 Nozzles !

temp control
*Temp control knob in F(392° to 896°) & Only SMD RE-WORK SYSTEM
C(200° to 489°) $199.00! w/Vacuum Pick-up tool.
*3-prong grounded power cord/static safe tip Details at Web Site
*Seperate heavy duty iron stand > Soldering Equipment & Supplies > Rework Stations
*Replaceable iron/easy disconnect Item# In Business
*Extra tips etc. shown at web site CSI-STATION1 Rapid Heat Up!
Since 1971 SMD RE-WORK SYSTEM w/Solder Iron
Also Available w/Digital Display SMD Hot Tweezer Item# CSI906
& MicroProcessor Controller Incredible
Adaptor Fits CSI Deal! only
Item# Stations 1 & 2, and $169.00!
CSI-STATION2 also CSI906
$49.95 Item# $29.00
Details at Web Site CSITWZ-STATION Includes 4 Nozzles !
> Soldering Equipment & Supplies > Soldering Stations Details at Web Site
> Soldering Equipment & Supplies > Rework Stations
Hand-Held 3.0GHz Universal Counter
*10 digit LCD Display With Field
Item# Super Economy DMM CSI830
*High speed 300MHz direct counter w/0.1Hz resolution Strength FC1002 1999 count LCD Display 1
*50 Ohm input for full range 1MHz to 3.0GHz coverage 10 50+
Measurement 15mm digit height
*Ultra sensitive synchronous detector w/16 segment
HfE DATA HOLD
$9.99 $7.99 $6.99
bargraph display of RF signal strength INCLUDES:
*removable telescoping antenna Audible Continuity *DC Volts:200m/2V/20V/200V/600V
*4 selectable gate speeds Rubber Boot & *AC Volts: 200/600
*Hold switch locks display Now Only *Internal 4AA Nicad battery pack
Test Leads *DC Current: 200µ/2m/20mA/10A
*Low power consumption $99.00! *9VDC, 500mA wall charger
*Pocket Sized Tester Included *Resistance:200/2K/20K/200K/2M
Details at Web Site > Test Equipment > Frequency Counters Details at Web Site *Size: 138 x 69 x 31mm
> Test Equipment > Digital Multimeters/World Beater Prices

Protek 60 & 100MHz Realtime Scopes

Amazing Brand
2 Channel Dual Trace New Incredible Low Single Output DC Bench Power Supplies
6” Internal Grid Not Refurbished! Prices! High stability digital read-out bench power supplies As Low As
Values ! Includes 2 scope probes featuring constant voltage and current outputs. Short-
ALTMAG
ALTTRIG (Limited Time Offer) circuit and current limiting protection is provided.
$85.00!
TV Sync 60MHz only $469.00 SMT PC boards and a built-in cooling fan help ensure
reliable performance and long life.
100MHz only $699.00
*Source Effect: 5x10-4=2mV
Details at Web Site > Test Equipment > Oscilloscopes/Outstanding Prices
*Load Effect: 5x10-4=2mV
B&W High Performance Night Vision Camera *Ripple Coefficient:: <250uV
We've found more expensive units with more LEDs but the *Stepped Current: 30mA +/- 1mA
performance of this unit is superior. Ideal for outdoor or indoor CSI3003X: 0-30v/0-3amp/1-4..$89.00/5+..$85.00
nighttime monitoring. Heavy Duty metal casing is
weatherproof for protection from rain or snow. WDB-5007S CSI5003X: 0-50v/0-3amp/1-4..$99.00/5+..$95.00
Regulated Power Supply $149.00 CSI12001X: 0-120v/0-1amp/1-4..$109.00/5+..$103.00
WDADP-12..$14.95 Details at Web Site
> Miniature Cameras (Board, Bullet, Mini’s, B/W, Color) Details at Web Site > Test Equipment > Power Supplies

C i r c u i t S p e c i a l i s t s , I n c . 2 2 0 S . C o u n t r y C l u b D r. , M e s a , A Z 8 5 2 1 0
Circle #145 on the Reader Service Card. 8 0 0 - 5 2 8 - 1 4 1 7 / 4 8 0 - 4 6 4 - 2 4 8 5 / FA X : 4 8 0 - 4 6 4 - 5 8 2 4
CoverInside.qxd 2/3/2004 10:55 PM Page 2

C i rcuitSpecialists.com C i rcuitSpecialists.com C i rcuitSpecialists.com

Digital Storage Oscilloscope Module 2 AMP, 0-18VDC Personal UV EPROM

Bench Power Supply ERASER
Convert any PC with USB interface
to a high performance Digital LCD Display
Storage Oscilloscope. This is a Input voltage: 110VAC Item#
sophisticated PC basedscope adaptor Output: 0-18VDC D-ERASE
providing performance compatible Current: 0-2A
to mid/high level stand alone prod- Source Effect:<0.02%+1mV Erase Up to 4 Chips at a time
ucts costing much more! Comes Load Effect:<0.01% +5mV Adjustable Timer: 4 to 24 minutes
Ripple & Noise:<1mVrms
with two probes. Details at Web Site $49.95
Details & Software Download 1 5+ Purchase > EEPROM Programmers & Erasers
PC based Digital Storage at Web Site $59.95 $52.95 OnLine! > EPROM Erasers
Oscilloscope, 200MHz 5GS/s > Test Equipment
equiv. sampling USB interface > Oscilloscopes/Outstanding Prices Item# CSI1802D
Details at Web Site > Test Equipment
Innovative 5 in 1 DMM
Item# 200DSO ..$859.00 > Power Supplies Integrated Sound/
Light/Humidity
5MHz Dual Channel Digital Scope Meter Sensors
Circuit Specialists 20MHz Dual Trace Scope
*DC to 5MHz Item# S2405 Item# CSI8209
*Dual Channel *20Mhz Bandwidth Item# CSI6502
*Sampleing Time:50Ms.S *Alt-Mag sweep *Alt-Mag sweep
*Auto Triggering *1mV/Div vertical *1mV/Div vertical
*Auto Calibration
*Roll & single shot mode
$299.00 ! sensitivity sensitivity
*16 shot reference wave- *Alternate trigger *Alternate trigger
form & set-up memory *X5 sweep magnification *X5 sweep magnification
*Built in autoranging True RMS *Large 6”CRT/autofocus Details at Web Site
Digital Multimeter
*Includes RS-232 I.F. software, *Comes w/2 (x1 & x10) probes) > Test Equipment
$49.00
RS232 cable & Rubber Boot Details at Web Site $269.00 ! > Digital Multimeters/World Beater
Details at Web Site > Test Equipment > Oscilloscopes/Outstanding Prices Prices
> Test Equipment > Hand Held Oscilloscope
Intelligent Auto-Ranging DMM RF Field Strength Analyzer $1499.
Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer Our Most Sophisticated DMM Ever! The 3201 is a high quality hand- (Limited Offer)
Large 4 Dig backlit 8000 count held RF Field Strength Analyzer
*Non-contact Infrared w/laser pointer measures dual display & Analog with wide band reception ranging from
-*50°C to 500°C/-58°F to 932°F Bargraph. RS232 I.R.interface 100kHz to 2060MHz.The 3201 is a
*Measure temperature of hot or moving objects /software /cable 4 display compact & lightweight portable ana-
from a safe distance modes, True RMS lyzer & is a must for RF Technicians.
*Narrow 8:1 field of view
Only value & Freq. of Min/Max Ideal for testing, installing & mainte-
*Fast Sampling Time $79.00 ! values:Temperaturein F/C; nance of Mobile Telephone Comm sys-
relative quantity & error % of tems, Cellular Phones,Cordless phones,
*Switchable C° to F° and Auto Power Off paging systems, cable &Satellite TV as
relative value at the same time.
*Large 3-1/2 Digit (1999 count) backlit LCD well as antenna installations.May also
with Data Hold Item# CSI 8203..$189.00 be used to locate hidden cameras using
Details at Web Site Item# DT-8812 Sale! RF transmissions
> Test Equipment
Details at Web Site
$129.00 Details at Web Site Sale !
> Test Equipment
> Infrared Non-Contact Digital Thermometers > Test Equipment > 2GHz RF Field Strength Analyzer
> Digital Multimeters/World Beater Prices

Purchase Item# 988-D Circuit Specialists now carries

and get a FLUKE TEST EQUIPMENT
Visit our web site & view New !
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FLUKE TEST EQUIPMENT.
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We’ve got Great deals ! Details at Web Site
A $35.00
> Test Equipment > Fluke Test Equipment
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Item# 988-D While Supplies Last !
STANDARD FEATURES: Eliminates headaches, PROGRAMMABLE DC POWER SUPPLY
*Tip temperature accuracy to within ± 3 °C (6°F) Only nausea and eye irritations
often associated with
*Zero Voltage switching and fully grounded design
*Adjustable temperature w/o changing tips
$399.00 ! exposure to solder fumes. Only
*Controlled by a finger actuated, thyristor switching circuit Details at Web Site $199.00 !
*Detachable solder and desolder wands for ease of use and repair > Soldering Equipment & Supplies
*A self-contained vacuum pump engineered to provide continuous,
maintenance free operation > Xytronic Soldering Equipment Item# CSI3645A
*Stores up to 10 settings for fast & accurate recall
BAG of LEDs DEAL Normal brightness LEDs now available
in RED or GREEN, in 3mm or 5mm size. 100 LEDs
*Backlit LCD display
*High Resolution (1mV)
Your choice. Each bag of 100 costs $1.50 ! for $1.50 !! *PC compatible (with optional RS-232 adaptor module)
(that’s 1.5 cents ea.!) Each bag contains *Easy programming w numeric keypad or fast rotary code
100 of the same led.
switch
BAG-RED 5mm.....$1.50 BAG-GREEN 5mm..$1.50 *Power shut down memory function PDF Manual available at
BAG-RED 3mm.....$1.50 BAG-GREEN 3mm..$1.50 CircuitSpecialists.com
Details at Web Site > Semiconductor Devices > LEDs, Displays & Lamps Details at Web Site > Test Equipment > Power Supplies

Circle #60 on the Reader Service Card.
Visit our website for a complete listing of our offers. We have over 8,000 electronic items on line @ www.CircuitSpecialists.com. PC based data
acquisition, industrial computers, loads of test equipment, optics, I.C’s, transistors, diodes, resistors, potentiometers, motion control products, capaci-
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D.I.Y.kits, cooling fans, heat shrink, cable ties & other wire handleing items, hand tools for electronics, breadboards, trainers, programmers & much
much more! Some Deals you won’t believe!

C i r c u i t S p e c i a l i s t s , I n c . 2 2 0 S . C o u n t r y C l u b D r. , M e s a , A Z 8 5 2 1 0
8 0 0 - 5 2 8 - 1 4 1 7 / 4 8 0 - 4 6 4 - 2 4 8 5 / FA X : 4 8 0 - 4 6 4 - 5 8 2 4 Circle #145 on the Reader Service Card.
Cover.qxd 2/6/2004 2:56 PM Page 108

Vol. 25 No. 3
Nuts & Volts
INVERSE KINEMATICS: A UNIVERSAL ROBOTICS CONTROLLER
March 2004

U.S. $5.50 CANADA $9.25

0 3>
Circle #154 on the Reader Service Card.

0 74470 89295 3